War of the Star Dragon
by DarksaberX
Summary: Zalia Gianni is a the most powerful S-class wizard in Fairy Tail. Acton Neha is also a member, but has no magic and no memory of his past. But when a blow to the head awakens something within him, the two are left with more questions than answers, and a search for clues into Acton's past will lead them into an adventure that will change them both forever. Rated it M just in case.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Waking up

_It has been more than 150 years since the time of Natsu and his friends. In that time, Fairy Tail has once again grown to become one of the most powerful and respected guilds in Fiore. It is a time of peace between the kingdoms, and people go about their day to day lives without fear. But a shadow will soon shatter this tranquil time, and it will once again be the mighty heroes of Fairy Tail that stand up to the darkness and force it back. This is where our story begins._

Acton sat down with a tired sigh. Serving food here in the Fairy Tail guild hall was a good job. It paid well, there was always good company, and he liked all his coworkers, but damn did they all eat a lot! It seemed he never stopped running from one table to another from the moment he started to the moment he got off shift. It wasn't that he was ungrateful, far from it, in fact. It had been a Fairy Tail wizard that had found him three years ago and brought him here to have his injuries healed. And when it had been found that he had no magical power, and no memory other than his name, they had taken him in without hesitation, giving him a place to live in the boys dorm.

Acton was just shy of 6' 2", and at 150 lbs, his body was lean, but he was actually a lot stronger than he looked. He had long golden blonde hair that he kept in a short ponytail, and his eyes were a piercing emerald green. He was handsome, with angular, features that gave him a fierce, almost hawk-like visage. A long, thin scar ran down the left side of his face, the remnant of a terrible wound that was no doubt the cause of his amnesia.

A Fairy Tail wizard by the name of Cordyle Amoxi had found Acton on his way back from a quest. He had been collapsed on the side of a forest road, bleeding from numerous injuries, including the head wound that had left the scar on his face. Cordyle had instantly contacted the guild, and they had sent out a team to help bring Acton back. Zalia Gianni, the guild's most powerful wizard, and the resident healer, had labored over his injuries long into the night. According to her, his heart had even stopped on two separate occasions, and she had been forced to use her power to restart it and keep him alive. He had awoken several days later, and after a thorough interview with Guild Master Antory, the extent of his memory loss had been pretty well established. He knew nothing of who he was, other than his name, or where he came from. The clothing he had been wearing at the time provided no clues, being the kind of standard utilitarian adventuring gear that could be found in almost every store in Fiore. Having no other real options, he had immediately accepted the offered job and place to stay. He had been here ever since. He liked being part of the guild. And while from time to time he wondered about his past, he had never really tried to do anything about it. Because reallt, what could he do? He had no clues to go on, and had no idea where to begin. He had already been up to the spot where Cordyle had found him, and that hadn't yielded any information, so he was pretty much at a dead end there.

"Hey, Acton!"

The voice pulled him out of his revery, and he looked up to see Zalia waving at him from near the door. He grinned and got up, making his way across the crowded hall to her. Ever since she had saved his life, he'd always felt he was in her debt, and while she disagreed, he still felt he was obligated to help her in any way she might need him to. The two of them were actually pretty close, and he was grateful to be able to consider her a friend. Zalia was fairly short, at a little over 5' 4", and while she was petite, she was considered one of the most beautiful girls in the guild. Her eyes were a deep maroon red, and her hair, which she kept short, stopping just below her ears, was an electric blue with stripes of neon pink, an odd side effect of her Flesh Smith magic. She sometimes complained about it, but Acton actually thought it was rather striking, and very pretty. She was bouncy and outgoing, full of life and energy, and everyone in the guild liked her.

"Hey, Zal," he said, using the nickname that he had always used. He was the only one who could get away with it, too. She wouldn't let anyone else call her that. He noticed the pile of bags on the ground next to her and smiled. "Lemme guess, you need an extra set of hands to get this up to your room, dontcha?"

She grinned and nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, I thought I could get them all myself, but it turns out they were heavier than I thought, and now I'm all tired out just from getting them back here. You don't mind?"

"Not at all, you know that," he said, then blushed a little when she beamed at him. He gathered the bags and hefted them up on his strong shoulders. He then nodded to say he was ready and followed after her. Her house was just a block down from the guild hall, so it wasn't any great feat for him to carry the bags for her. They walked up to her apartment and he set the bags down lightly on the table. After making sure she didn't need anything else, he excused himself and headed back to the guild. As he came through the door, he noticed there was an extra bag on the floor.

_*Oh, I must have missed one*,_ he thought, picking it up. _*I'll just quick take it to her.*_ As he reached the door to her apartment, he heard a loud crash and her scream from inside. Without hesitating, he slammed his shoulder into the door, bashing it open. He skidded to a stop, and took in the scene with one swift glance. About seven tough looking men had broken into her apartment through the window, probably by climbing up the fire escape. They were clearly after all the stuff she had just bought. Two of them were on either side of her, restraining her, and the other three were arranged around the small room. He lunged forward and slammed the one closest to him backwards into the wall before he could react, driving the air from his lungs and leaving him to sink to the floor, gasping. He pivoted on his heel and caught the second intruder across the chin with a powerful roundhouse kick. He fell and lay still; Acton was worried he'd broken his neck, but didn't have time to think about it as another of the men lunged at him with a knife. He skipped sideways, dodging the thrust, and brought his hand down on the mans wrist in a sharp chop, causing him to drop the knife.

"LOOK OUT!" Zalia screamed, but before he could look around to see what she meant, pain exploded from the back of his head, and he collapsed. Zalia started to cry, and one of the men holding her slapped her hard.

"Shut up, woman," he said harshly, giving her a little shake for emphasis. "Idiot had it comin'."

The first man Acton had hit, having recovered his breath, tucked the heavy metal club back into his jacket. "Now then," he said, rubbing his stomach where Acton's elbow had hit him. "Let's git back ta where we were before we were so rudely interrupted. Where do yah keep the rest of yer money, girl?"

Zalia just hung limply in the grip of the other two men, tears streaming down her face as she looked at Acton's prone form, blood pooling from the gash on the back of his head. She cried out as the other man slapped her again, and finally gestured with a flick of her head to one of the dressers against the wall. "Top drawer," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

They all froze as a deep rumbling growl filled the small space, causing the very air to vibrate with its strength. The leader turned slowly, his eyes widening at the sight of Acton back on his feet, surrounded by a glowing nimbus of golden energy.

"You hurt my friend! I'm gonna pay you back a hundred times for what you did to her!" he snarled, his face a mask of terrible rage. "_Star Dragon Solar Blitz!_" Bolts of energy erupted from his hands, slamming into the men, blasting them backwards. He moved so fast he practically vanished, flashing from one to the next, smashing them backwards into the walls, one of them into the ceiling, another one down into the floor. Seconds later, they were all down, scattered around the room. Zalia stared at Acton, eyes wide, mouth open; he stood in the center of the room, chest heaving, sweating trickling down his face.

"A...A-Acton?" Zalia whispered, hardly daring to breath. He looked up at her, his entire body shaking.

"W-well...that was certainly different," he said, then his eyes rolled back and he collapsed.

Several hours later, Acton and Zalia sat in the guild hall, surrounded by others from the guild. After Acton had passed out, Zalia had collected herself and ran to the guild to get help. After reviving him, treating his injuries, and after the thugs had been dragged off to jail, they had sat down to puzzle out what exactly had happened.

"I'm not really sure myself," said Acton, scratching is head as he thought. "I know I lost consciousness after that idiot whacked me over the head, but when I came to, it was as if all this knowledge had just been dumped into my brain." He paused and then shook his head. "No, that's not right. It feels like this information on how to do this, use this magic, has always been in my head, it's just that it's like a wall that was blocking me from using it is gone."

"I wonder if that blow to the head perhaps undid some of the amnesia that's been plaguing you for so long," said Guild Master Antory, looking thoughtful. "Head wounds can do strange things to the brain."

Zalia nodded. "That actually makes sense," she said. "My magic detected changes in his brain activity, as though areas that used to be dormant were now being used now. It's entirely possible that getting hit on the head like that reconnected some synapses in your brain and allowed you to access your magic again."

"Which brings use around to that particular point," said Antory, turning back to Acton. "You said it was Dragon Slaying magic that you used?"

"Well, seeing as the spell I used was Star Dragon Solar Blitz, yeah, I'm pretty sure," he said with a chuckle. "I've never heard of Star Dragon Slaying magic, though, have you?"

Lyla, the Fairy Tail record keeper, stepped forwards. "I have, although only vague mentions in other books and scrolls that I've read. It's considered rare, even among Dragon Slayers, which tells you something. There were also comments that led me to believe there's something special about that particular form, although I'm not sure what they might be. There seems to be something that sets Star Dragon Slaying magic apart from the other types."

"So, more questions to be answered," Acton said, stretching. "Well, we're not gonna figure anything out here. It's far too late in the day, and I for one am absolutely BEAT." He got up, and after saying goodnight to everyone, made his way to the dorms. Once he was safely back in his own room, he sat down on his bed with a tired sigh. He turned his head and looked at himself in the mirror that he had hanging on his closet door. He certainly didn't look any different, despite how he felt.

He flopped backwards and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought. So, he could use Star Dragon Slaying magic. That was certainly nothing like what he had ever dreamed of in his wildest fantasies. Those who wielded Dragon Slaying magic were considered some of the strongest in Fiore. Just look at Fairy Tail's own past! Natsu Dragneel, Gajeel Redfox, Wendy Marvell, Laxus Dreyar, all legendary wizards. Then add in the ones they fought alongside; Erza "Titania" Scarlet, Gray Fullbuster, Mirajane Strauss, Lucy Heartfilia, Gildarts Clive, all equally as note worthy as the Dragon Slayers themselves! And now he, Acton Neha, was somehow a part of that legacy? This was too much. On the one hand, he was ecstatic. He finally had magic! On the other hand, he was scared out of his mind for the very same reason. Where had he learned this magic? Who had taught it to him? Why had he decided to learn it in the first place? What other skills did he have that he was still completely unaware of? So many questions left unanswered.

He decided that stressing over it now wasn't going to help him any. He would worry about it more in the morning. And with that thought, he rolled over and was soon fast asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Acton woke up sore all over. He flinched as he tried to roll out of bed, then gave up after a few moments and just lay there, staring at the ceiling.

"Uuuuugh," he muttered to himself. "Well, I suppose that's what from using magic for the first time in at least three years." He forced himself to get up, then shuffled over to the shower, grimacing and wincing the whole time. The hot water helped ease his aches, and by the time he was done, he felt almost human again. He made his way down to the guild hall, to find Master Antory waiting for him.

"While you were asleep, Lyla and I did a thorough search of the library, but didn't find any further information that might help tell us more about your power and what makes it special," he said, folding his arms. Master Davyd Antory had been master of the Fairy Tail guild for almost twenty years now, and while in his forties, he still looked the same as he did when he first took the position, with short salt and pepper hair, a truly impressive mustache, and piercing ice blue eyes. He cocked his head to one side and gave Acton a measuring look. "So, now that you have magic power of your own, what will you do with it?"

Acton pondered that for a long moment. He actually hadn't thought of that yet. It hadn't occurred to him how he might progress from here. Then an idea popped into his mind. "I think the first thing I should do is head to the Kings Library in Crocus. If there is going to be more information on Star Dragon Slaying Magic anywhere, it'll probably be there," he said, sitting down on a bench to tie the laces of his boots, which had come untied.

Master Antory nodded approvingly. "That's actually an excellent idea," he said, smiling at Acton. "If I might make a suggestion?"

"By all means," Acton said, looking at him curiously.

"Take Zalia with you," Antory said, gesturing to the young lady in question, who was eating breakfast at one of the tables. "She's been working her butt off lately, and could do with a break."

Acton looked over at her, unsure. Go on a trip with just Zalia for company? Sure, they were friends and all, but would she want to? As it turned out, he needn't have worried.

"That sounds excellent!" she exclaimed, when he brought it up. "As it turns out, there are some things I need to get for the medical wing here, but the only merchants who sell them are in Crocus, so I'll gladly come along. It'll be better than making the trip with someone else."

Acton grinned and sighed with relief. "Well, alright then, how about we leave first thing tomorrow, that way we can pack and get anything we might need for the trip."

Once back in his room, Acton leaned against the door for a moment. He and Zalia, going on a trip together, just the two of them? He couldn't believe his good luck! This was one of things he had always wanted! He started packing mechanically, lost in thought. Perhaps now he would be able to prove to everyone that he was actually worth something to the guild, and not just a worthless nobody for everyone to be nice to out of pity.

That had been one of fears that had plagued him the entire time he had been with the guild. He looked around at all the powerful wizards in the guild and couldn't help but feel inadequate. Cordyle, with his Blade Maker Magic, and his wife Katya, who had Secret Breaker Magic. Or Tamazory, who used Vector Magic. Then there was Zalai. The most powerful wizard in Fairy Tail, her Flesh Smith Magic was actually a Lost Magic, and a tremendously powerful healing type. It gave her complete control over the body at a cellular level. That actually confused him a little, now that he thought about it. She was acknowledged by all to be the most powerful person in the guild, and yet...and yet he'd never seen her actually fight. She always used her power in a non-offensive capacity, healing and supporting her allies, and never attacking directly. So then how had she gotten that title? You pretty much HAD to be a fighter to gain that kind of renown.

He puzzled over it for a few moments longer, then shrugged. He was sure there was more to it then he was aware of. Perhaps he would ask her later. For now though, he needed to focus on getting ready.

The next morning, Acton stepped out side the guild hall to find Zalia waiting for him, and she wasn't alone.

"Cordyle? And Katya?" he asked in puzzlement, looking at the two of them. "What are you guys doing here?"

Katya smiled and cocked her head at him. "What do you mean? We're coming with you, of course!"

Acton stared at them, torn between being happy they were coming along and upset that he wouldn't get to be alone with Zalia for the whole trip. After a brief internal struggle, the happiness won out. "Sweet!" he said, smiling at the two of them. "It'll be nice to have you guys along."

"Well then, come on," Cordyle said, picking up his and Katya's bags. "We've got a train to catch!"

All the excitement that Acton had a few moments before vanished in the space of two heartbeats. "A train? Ooooooooh crap," he muttered.

Thirty minutes later he was sprawled on the seat of their compartment, moaning pitifully, his face an unhealthy greenish hue. Zalia cradled his head on her lap and stroked his hair soothingly.

"Well, I think this pretty much confirms that he's a Dragon Slayer," said Cordyle, cheerfully. "The records say that all the Dragon Slayers had terrible motion sickness. I think that this pretty much proves that bit of info."

"Isn't there anything you can do for him, Zalia?" Katya asked, a look of concern on her face. Katya was the oldest woman in the guild, and was something of a mother figure to many of the younger members, Acton included. She enjoyed the role, claiming that since Fairy Tail was her family, it made sense that she take care of her children.

Zalia shook her head regretfully. "I'm afraid not, Katya, sorry," she said, looking down at her friend. "My magic doesn't work like that, so I don't have anything that would work on motion sickness."

Katya patted her hand comfortingly, smiling at her. "It's alright, sweetie," she said. "I'm sure you would if you could."

After a while, Acton more or less passed out, and the three of them continued to chat for the length of the ride. They wouldn't be able to ride all the way to Crocus, but would have to travel on foot for about half the journey. Once they arrived at the train station, Zalia dragged Acton off the train by his ankles, dumping him on the ground in an untidy heap.

"Geez, you're heavy," she muttered, picking him up and shaking him. "Come on, snap out of it already! We need to get moving lazy bones!"

Acton's head lolled back and forth, then he opened his eyes and looked down at Zalia. "Wow, you're a lot stronger than you look," he said, grinning at her. "Care to let me down now?"

She set him back on his feet and shrugged. "Not really," she said, picking up her bags and turning to catch up with Cordyle and Katya, who were headed to the entrance of the station. "I can use my magic to reinforce cells with energy to enhance physical attributes like strength, agility, stamina, and the like. All I did was channel power into my arms to boost my strength and let me pick you up like that."

"I never knew you could do that," he said, curious as to what else she was capable of. "Sounds damned useful though."

She nodded, smiling at him. "It is, but it's also dangerous."

"How so?"

"Well, it puts tremendous strain on the cells themselves," she explained as they walked. They had caught up to Cordyle and Katya by now, and they were both listening to her, as interested in hearing this as Acton was. "If it's done too often, or too much power is used, it can cause serious damage to the body."

Cordyle nodded. "That makes sense. The human body isn't designed to handle energy like that, so it's only natural that it would be hard on it."

Zalia grinned at him. "Exactly right!" she said. Acton noticed though that the smile didn't wuite reach her eyes.

*_What's that about, I wonder?_* he thought. *_It's almost as though she's...upset, yet hiding it. Odd. What could she be upset about like that?_*

THUNK!

"Ow!" Acton rubbed the side of his head where the small rock had hit him. He looked around, glaring. "Okay, who threw that? Show yourself!"

There was a series of chittering squeaks from off to his left, and he turned, only to be hit in the back of the head with another rock. "Ow! Dammit, who's doing that?" They all looked around, trying to figure out where their unseen assailant was hiding. The call came again, this time from above them, and they all looked up. A small fury orange and gold streak plummeted from the sky and smacked solidly into Acton's midriff, knocking the air from his lungs and sending him sprawling onto this back in a cloud of dust.

When the dust had cleared, the others gaped at the sight before them. A small furry creature sat atop Acton's chest. I had neon orange fur with gold stripes, and its body structure was like that of a hawk's or a falcon's. It had two large wings, it's tail was long and thin, like a cat's, and while it had a beak, its head and face were more reptilian than avian. It looked from one to the other with a calculating intelligence in its brilliant golden eyes.

For a moment, nobody moved, then Acton sat up suddenly, causing the creature to tumble into his lap with an undignified squawk. He seized the thing, pinning its wings with his hands and shook it a little. "Listen you, I dunno what game you're playing, but it's not nice to throw things at peoples heads! Now what do you have to say for yourself, hm?" The creature looked up at him, and they stared at each other for a long moment.

"Um," said Cordyle after a long silence. "Acton? What're you doing?"

"Sshh," Acton said, waving a hand at him, then grinned and set the odd little creature up on hius shoulder where it balanced easily. He smiled and scratched it under the chin, which caused it to close it's eyes and trill happily. "I was talking to her, actually."

"Talking?" Katya said, confused.

"It's so cute!" Zalia squealed at the same time.

He chuckled as he continued to scratch the little creature. "Yup. It's a she, and she is a draigling," he said, now stroking it's crest fur, which caused it to lean into his hand. "Her name is Kurai."

"How do you know all that?" Zalia asked, coming over next to him to look at Kurai more closely.

"As I said, she told me," he said. "According to her, draiglings can bond with a single person, which allows them to communicate telepathically. She doesn't actually speak in words, so much as images and feelings."

Zalia suddenly snatched Kurai from his shoulder and held her , snuggling her face into the little draigling's soft fur. "You're so adorable! Yes you are, yes you are! Who's an adorable little flying thing? You is!" She said lots of other things in a similar vein, and all the while Kurai was giving Acton a look as if to say "make her stop".

Acton started laughing, and then Cordyle and Katya joined in. He stepped over and rescued Kurai from Zalia, who pouted at him. He placed the draigling back on his shoulder, and turned to the others. "Well, it seems this little lady is determined to come with us," he said, smiling and picking up his bags again. "Come on, let's get moving. We're not going to get to Crocus by standing around here." And with that, they started off again.

**Author's note: I'm gonna start taking after a writer who has recently given me some inspiration and encouragement (You know who you are! ;) ) and start leaving a little something for my readers. By the way, if you're reading this, I LOVE YOU AND WILL BLESS YOU AND YOUR DEPENDENTS WITH LUCK AND JOY! Lol, just kidding. Anywho, leave a review if you like what you've read and let me know whacha think! **

**So, quick random story that happened to me today: I scared the bejezzuz out of my boss without meaning to, because I randomly get nosebleeds from time to time, so I'm standing outside the back door because I had to make a quick phone call to a friend, when all the sudden my nose just starts POURING. So I'm standing there, talking on the phone, dripping blood all over the place, and there's nothing I can do about it because I can't get my idiot friend to shut up long enough to get off the phone. He finally finishes talking and I turned to go inside and my boss was standing there, probably to ask how much longer I was going to take, and his face when he saw me...omg PRICELESS! Well, anyway, that was my story. Pretty pointless but I hope it at least made you smile! **

**Anyway, thanks again for reading this, and please, let me know what you think! I'll have the next chapter up just as soon as my brain finishes mulling it over and decides to spit it out. Later!**


	3. Chapter 3

The weather was a perfect spring day, not too hot, and not too cold. After riding on Acton's shoulder for a while, Kurai took off and flew along above them, coasting on thermals. They had been walking for several hours when Acton suddenly halted, his nose twitching.

Zalia walked into him from behind. She stumbled back, rubbing her forehead. "Ow! Hey, jerk! What did you stop like that for?"

He swung his head back and forth, scenting the air. "I smell something. And whatever it is, I don't like it."

They all started to look around them, all their senses alert. Cordyle brushed his long brown hair out of his face, peering into the underbrush around them. "I don't smell anything," he said after a moment.

""You wouldn't" said Katya, also looking around. "Dragon Slayers all have superior senses of smell and hearing. It's a well documented fact. What does it smell like, Acton?"

He sniffed again, then shook his head. "I don't know, like nothing else I've ever smelled before. It's almost as if..." He trailed off.

"Almost as if what?" Zalia prompted, starting to get nervous and moving a little closer to Acton.

"Almost as if it doesn't belong here," Acton said, a slight growl forming in his throat.

"What, you mean in this forest?" Cordyle asked, but Acton shook his head.

"No, I mean it doesn't belong in this world," he said. They jumped as something large and, black, and hairy suddenly crashed through the trees and out onto the path in front of them. Acton snarled and shoved Zalia around behind him, settling into a half crouched position. The thing was ugly and misshapen, with too many limbs that bent it too many directions. There was no sense of symmetry to the creature's form, what little they could see of it. A single bloodshot eye glared at them crazily from the waving forest of limbs, and it let out a peculiar gurgling squeal that grated painfully against the ears, setting them on edge.

"What the hell is that?" Cordyle yelled, getting between the monster and Katya. "_Thornshrike!_" There was a flash and a long curved sword appeared in his hand. He twirled it expertly from one hand to the other, settling into a swordsman's crouch. Cordyle's Blade Maker Magic was one of the strongest in the guild, and as a master swordsman, he was a force to be reckoned with in battle. The sword he now held, called Thornshrike, was a four foot scimitar type blade that glowed with an eldritch light.

Katya pointed at the creature with two fingers. "_Retsnom taht yduts!_" she cried, and a green glow settled around the beast for a few moments before fading away.

"Well?" Cordyle said, skipping backwards and slicing off a limb that got too close.

"Center mass!" she said. "It can endlessly regrow any arms you cut off or destroy. The only way to stop it is to hit it in the center, where it's body actually is!" Her Secret Breaker Magic allowed her to draw knowledge and meaning from any source. In battle, it meant that she could analyze an enemy and find out its weaknesses and capabilities.

"Well, that works out for me then!" Acton said, and charged forwards. "Star Dragon Meteor Rush!" His body was enveloped in a golden glow and he slammed into the creature head first. The monster let out a shriek as it was sent flying through the air. Acton leapt after it, launching himself upwards. "Star Dragon Wing Attack!" He smashed the creature earthwards, throwing up a cloud of dust and leaving a gigantic crater in the ground. He landed next to the beast, skidding in the loose soil.

"_Tops kaew sti thgilhgih!_" Katya yelled, pointing at the creature, and a small glowing spot appeared on it. "Acton, hit it there!"

"Star Dragon Roar!" A beam of blindingly bright golden energy burst from Acton's mouth and smashed into the creature, centered on the spot Katya's magic had highlighted. The monster let out a single shriek before it collapsed backwards. Before any of them could move, it seemed to flicker and then slowly faded away, leaving nothing behind other than a few tufts of hair.

Nobody said anything for a few moments. Acton stood with his hands braced on his knees, panting hard. "That...was ...AWESOME!" he yelled suddenly, making them jump. "Did you SEE that? Star Dragon Slaying Magic is the coolest thing EVER!"

"Acton, do you really think this is the time?" Zalia asked, looking at him reproachfully.

"What?" he said, cocking his head and giving her one of his typical lopsided grins, which now showed off the small fangs that had grown in since he had awakened his power. "Can't I celebrate a little? I mean, come on, you have to admit that was awesome! That's the first time I've really used my powers. It felt good."

"How so?" she asked, curious now in spite of herself.

"Well," he said, looking thoughtful. "You know the feeling when you get when you stretch a muscle that you haven't used in a while?" She nodded, and he went on. "Well, it feels kinda like that. It hurts just a little bit, but at the same time it feels really good."

With a whistling cry, Kurai came hurtling out of the sky and plowed into Acton's stomach, knocking the air out of him and sending him down onto his back again just like the first time. She was making little distressed squeaks and shivering, butting her head under his chin and huddling against him. He wrapped his arms around her, looking concerned. "Hey, hey, hey, what's the matter, little one?" he asked, stroking her crest and back slowly. He tucked a finger under her beak and made her look at him, stared into her eyes for a long moment, then nodded and hugged her again. "Ooooh, I see, you were worried about me. It's okay, sweetie, I'm fine, really, see?" He let her sniff him all over to reassure her. "See, I'm fine, love, okay?"

Zalia chuckled as she pulled Acton to his feet. "What, she doesn't like it when you fight?"

"Apparently," he said, setting Kurai on his shoulder where she snuggled in close to the side of his head. "She was really worried I was hurt or something."

Zalia grinned. "Awwwweh, that's so cute!" she giggled, reaching over and giving Kurai a scratch between her tufted ears, causing the little critter to close its eyes and murmur happily. "You were all worried for your partner! How sweet!" She suddenly snatched Kurai from his shoulder again and started cuddling the hapless draigling. Kurai struggled madly to get away at first, then, fickle creature that she was, started to make her little purring squeaks of happiness as Zalia started to scratch her right where her beak met her fur, evidently one of her favorite places to be petted. Acton laughed and shook his head, then made his way over to where Cordyle and Katya where crouched inspecting the ground.

"What's up guys, did you find something?" he asked as he came up to them.

Cordyle looked up at him and then gestured for him to come closer. "What do you make of this?" he asked, pointing to some odd looking scuff marks on the ground.

Acton inspected it, then leaned down and inhaled deeply. He nodded and straightened up, his mouth a grim line. "Where ever that thing came from, it originated here," he said, sniffing the spot several times, noticing something. "There was someone else here. I can smell traces of their magic. It smells...weird."

"What do you mean?" Katya asked.

"It's hard to explain," Acton said, folding his arms and looking out into the forest around them. "It's almost as if it's hundreds of other scents blended together into a single whole, yet I can still identify the individual components." He shrugged. "Like I said, weird."

Katya twirled a lock of her long white hair thoughtfully. "That almost sounds like...eh, never mind." Cordyle looked at her quizically, but she just shook her head, and he shrugged.

Zalia came up to them with their bags under one arm and Kurai perched on the other. "Well, not that this hasn't been fun and all, but I really think we should get back to walking," she said, handing Acton his back as Kurai jumped to his shoulder. They picked up their stuff and headed back to the path.

The next few days were uneventful, and they passed the time by having fun as they traveled. Katya, due to her magic, proved to have a truly impressive store knowledge at her disposal. She was well versed in woodcraft, teaching them about the plants and animals they saw. Cordyle taught them how to move silently and remain completely undetected. He also taught them meditation techniques that helped them clear their minds and focus on the tasks at hand. And all the while, Acton grew stronger and more powerful with each day. By the time they reached the outskirts if Crocus, he felt confident that he could handle anything life threw at him.

But if he'd known of the events that were to come, he might have had an altogether different opinion.

**Happy Valentines Day! I may not have a Valentine myself, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the holiday and half priced candy! Lol. Anyway, interesting observation, I noticed while at work that snowflakes seem to be some sort of herald for stupid people. I work in fast food, you see, and all day, from 11 am until about 1:30, we were pretty much DEAD. I mean, there was NOBODY. We cleaned the entire store from top to bottom twice, that's how slow we were. Okay, not really, but you get the idea. Anyway, then it started snowing, and all the sudden WHAM! We had a line out the door, and there were cars backed up through the drive through. I was insanity! And I swear to you, every single one of these people were either rude, impatient, just plain stupid, or some combination of all three. I swear I need a new job.**

**But anyway, I also heard a random joke today that I wanted to share cuz it made me laugh.**

**A cop pulls over a driver later at night due to a broken tail light. When he gets to the window, he sees that it's an elderly lady. As he's going through her information, he notices that she has a conceal-carry permit.**

**"I see that you're licensed to carry a weapon," he says, handing her papers back to her. "Do you have any on you?"**

**"Why yes," she says. "I have a .38 Special in my purse, a 9mm Beretta in the glove compartment and a Colt .45 in the center console."**

**The officer blinks in surprise as she rattles off this list and then scratches his head in some confusion. "Ma'am, if I might ask, just what on earth are you afraid of?"**

**"Not a damn thing, my dear" she replies with a smile. "Not a damn thing."**

**Lol. You probably didn't laugh as hard as I did, but I still thought it was pretty funny. Anyway, thanks for reading, and I'll have the next chapter out as soon as my brain gives it to me. So once again, happy Valentines Day, and don't forget to smile! Seriously, you'll live longer. Later!**

**Love-DarksaberX**


	4. Chapter 4

Acton slapped the book closed with a frustrated sigh. He'd been at this for three days and was still no closer to understanding his powers than he had been when he'd first started. The library had information on every Dragon Slaying style except for his, it seemed. The only mention of Star Dragon Slaying was a single passage in an ancient scroll that said "he who beareth the power of the Stellar Dragon can alter their powers by shifting their spectral form".

He had absolutely NO idea what that meant, although it certainly sounded impressive. There was nothing in his memory about it, although he had to admit that his memory wasn't the most reliable thing. Even so, he would have to think about it and figure out what exactly that meant. He checked his watch and then swore to himself softly. If he didn't get moving, he was going to be late for lunch with the others. He put the book back on the shelf, picked up his cloak and made his way out of the library and to the little restaurant they had agreed to meet at. In the distance, he could see the arena where the Grand Magic Games where held every year. He heard his name called and turned to see Zalia making her way to him through the crowd.

"So, found anything yet?" she asked, taking his arm so that she didn't get separated from him in the crush of people.

He shrugged. "Yes and no. I found mention of my power in a really old scroll, but it didn't really give me anything that I could use."

She giggled at the rueful expression on his face. "I'm sure you'll find something eventually. I would suggest asking Katya to see if she could give you a hand. Her Secret Breaker Magic might help you be able to narrow down your search."

"Oh, duh!" Acton cried, smacking his forehead with the heel of his hand. "Why didn't I think of that? You're absolutely right, she would be able to instantly find any books that might be able to help me. It'd certainly save me a lot of effort."

At this point, they'd reached the little café where Katya and Cordyle both sat at one of the outdoor tables. Cordyle spotted them coming and waved them over. Just as Acton was about to sit down, Kurai came plummeting out of the sky, aiming for his stomach. This time though, she misjudged, and Acton sidestepped out of her path at the last moment. With an undignified squawk she cannoned into the bush behind him headfirst, shot out the other side, glanced off the side of a passing wagon and plowed into a puddle. The four of them burst out laughing, and Acton went to retrieve her, coming back with a dripping wet and thoroughly disgruntled draigling. He set her on the branch of a tree behind his chair, where she sat preening herself and fluffing out her feathers to dry in miffed silence.

After they'd ordered food and talked for a while, Cordyle cleared his throat. "So, Acton, have you found anything yet?" he asked, echoing Zalia's question from earlier.

Acton again outlined what he'd learned so far, and then repeated Zalia's idea to Katya, who brightened. I think that's a fantastic idea!" she said with a smile. "I would be more than happy to help you, Acton."

Acton smiled with relief. "Thanks, Katya, that'll be an enormous help."

"Well, what about you, Zalia?" Cordyle asked, turning to her.

"Well, I'm done with all the shopping I needed to do, so I was actually planning on helping Acton anyway," she replied, taking a sip of her drink.

Cordyle nodded in satisfaction and sat back in his chair. "That works out well then. I need to go out to one of the nearby towns tomorrow to get a few things from one of the craftsmen who lives there, so with the three of you working together, I'm sure you'll be able to find something by the time I get back."

The next day, after they'd said goodbye to Cordyle at the city gate, the three of them had headed to the Library. Within fifteen minutes, Katya's power had sniffed out more than twenty books that held information on Dragon Slaying Magic in general and Star Dragon Slaying Magic in specific. It was just as frustrating as the days he had spent there by himself, however. The books contained very limited information, and most of it he already knew. There were two additional mentions of the mysterious "spectral shift" ability, but that's all they were, mentions. They didn't actually give him any information about what the spectral shift was or what it did.

After four hours and very little to show for it, they decided to break for lunch. They decided to take a walk through one of the many large parks in Crocus to clear their heads and stretch their legs some more. They were walking down one of the many paths through the trees when Acton suddenly got an odd feeling, a tingling on the back of his neck. He slowed up his pace and swung his head from side to side, sniffing deeply. Zalia noticed that he was now behind them and stopped, turning to him.

"Acton?" she called. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure," he said, walking over to her. "I got this weird feeling all the sudden, and thought I smelled something. Now I'm not sure."

Zalia and Katya both looked around, checking the forest for anything suspicious. Quite suddenly, about twenty men stepped out of the trees and surrounded them in a loose ring. They all wore black hooded cloaks, and their faces where hidden by red painted metal masks crafted to form the ugly, leering faces of demons. Katya swiftly moved in next to Acton, putting Zalia between them.

"Who are you?" Acton said, a hint of a growl in his voice. "What do you want?"

"Who we are is of no concern to you," said one of them, stepping forward. His mask was much more ornate than the others, and he also had flaring shoulder guards made of same metal as his mask, leading Acton to guess that this one was the leader. His voice was gravelly and echoed oddly from inside his mask. "As for what we want, you're to hand over the Flesh Smith wizard, the one called Zalia Gianni."

Acton felt Zalia tense behind him. He stared at the masked man, incredulous. "You seriously believe that simply because you told me to hand her over I'm just meekly gonna do what you say?" he asked, his voice rising. "Are you arrogant, or just plain stupid? As if a Fairy Tail wizard would simply hand over one of their friends like that!" He shifted into a fighter's crouch, his hands glowing with golden energy. "You want her, you're gonna have to step over my could dead body."

"That can be arranged," the man growled. He suddenly vanished, and before Acton could react, he felt searing pains in his neck, side, and stomach. He fell sideways, and Zalia screamed. Several of the men grabbed Acton and dragged him to his feet, where he hung limply in theur grasp, blood dripping from the cuts where the leader had slashed him. Two more shoved Katya to the ground, and the leader grabbed Zalia by the collar of her dress.

"No! Let go of me!" she screamed, struggling in his grip. "Let go of me, now!

He shook her like a rag doll, making her teeth rattle. "Shut up, bitch!" he snarled. Katya started to rise, but she was shoved back down by two of the others. "Maybe this will be a lesson to you to do what you're told in the future."

"Zalia!" Acton yelled, trying to shove past the men holding onto him.

Suddenly, Zalia stopped struggling, and Katya saw as her expression changed from one of fear to absolute terror. "Oh no nonononono you need to let go of me! Quick! Let go before she wakes up!"

"She?" the man said, shaking her again. "What are you babbling about, woman? I thought I told you to shut up!"

But Zalia wasn't listening. She was thrashing more and more frantically in his grip. "Let go of me! Now! You need to! Please! Don't let her wake up!" A shudder suddenly passed the length of her body. "Oh god, Kikyo, please...don't do it...no, KIKYO!" Another shiver slid up her body, and then she suddenly went limp in the man's grip.

Everyone froze as she started to laugh. But this was not the laugh of a normal person, no, this was the insane giggle of an utter lunatic. The leader let go of her like she was a poisonous snake and too a step back. She swung around to face him, and he recoiled from her. Her eyes, which had been their normal maroon red a moment ago, were now an acidic yellow, and her pupils were now vertical slits.

"Well well well," she said in a high pitched singsong voice that made Acton's skin crawl. "What have we here? Some little wizards come to play with little Kikyo? Oh goody! It's been so long since I had anyone to play with!" Her face suddenly hardened, the smile vanishing. "Now die." She reached out and touched him, and he let out a bloodcurdling scream. There was a series of sickening cracks and pops, and they all saw as every bone in his body was broken one after another. He collapsed and lay on the ground, dead.

She giggled like a little child with a new toy and turned, pointing at another of the men. "Now you!" she said sweetly. The man convulsed and opened his mouth to scream, then exploded, showering the others with gore. That broke the spell. The others turned and fled from her. She chased after them gleefully, giggling and laughing like a maniac the whole time.

Acton looked over at Katya, who was still on her knees, staring at the ground, her face white as a sheet. "Katya?" he said softly, touching her shoulder. "Katya, what just happened to Zalia? What was that she just did?"

"That..." Katya swallowed the lump in her throat and shook herself all over. "What you just saw wasn't Zalia."

"What do you mean it wasn't Zalia?" Acton asked, helping her stand up.

"I've only ever seen it once before, shortly after I came to the guild," Katya said, rambling a little. "It was after she'd established herself as the most powerful member of Fairy Tail. Flesh Smith Magic isn't just a healing art. It can also be used offensively."

Acton gaped at her. "What, really? How?"

"I don't really know that," she said, sitting down on a nearby bench. "What I do know is that she refused to use it that way. When I asked her why, she said it would be bad for everyone. I did some digging and found out a few things. Apparently, when she was about six or seven, her family was ambushed while traveling by raiders. Her mother, father, older brother, and two younger sisters were all killed right in front of her while she was hidden inside their wagon. When the raiders came for her, this...other person, who calls herself Kikyo, took over and evidently slaughtered them."

"So...whenever she's in danger of being hurt..." Acton trailed off, putting the pieces together.

Katya nodded. "Exactly. Kikyo takes over and...deals with whatever is threatening her, like you just saw."

"So then, why didn't this happen to those thugs a week ago when they broke into her place?"

"Chances are that you got there so fast that Kikyo didn't have a chance to notice that Zalia was in danger, so the problem was handled before she'd had a chance to wake up. You need to go find her and calm her down."

Acton nodded and took off into the woods after her. He found her in a clearing, on her knees, surrounded by the bodies of six of the men who had attacked them. She was crying softly as he some up to her.

He reached out and gently put a hand on her shoulder, but she jerked away from him. "Don't touch me!" she snapped, hugging her knees to her chest. He sat down on the grass and simply waited for her to speak again.

"You must hate me," she whispered after a while. "Must think I'm some kind of monster to have that...that...THING lurking inside me, ready to spring out at any moment."

"Actually, I don't think either of you are monsters," he said quietly after a moment.

"What?" she said, confused. She looked around at him, her eyes swollen and red from crying.

"I don't think either of you are monsters," he repeated. "You or Kikyo."

"You're lying!" she cried, turning away from him again. "How can you say that? She...I killed all those men!"

Acton grabbed her and turned her around to face him. "No, YOU didn't kill anyone," he said, his voice like iron. "KIKYO killed them, and I don't blame her in the least. She was trying to protect you. I can't say that I agree with her methods, but the fact remains that she did what she did to protect you."

"But...but...she KILLED them!" she wailed. Acton pulled her to him and hugged her tightly, and she gasped in surprise, then after hesitating, wrapped her arms around him and just sobbed. After she'd finally calmed down, she pulled away from him, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"For what?" Acton asked, giving her a handkerchief to whip her eyes with. "It's not like you did anything."

"But-" She stopped as Acton put a finger over her lips, stifling any other comments.

"Those masks they wore?" he said, pointing to one of them on the ground. "Those masks mark them as members of the dark guild Manticore Fang. It took me a moment to recognize them."

"The Murder Guild?" Zalia said, her eyes widening in surprise.

Acton nodded. "Yes. I don't feel sorry at all that they're dead, because I guarantee you that they were the lowest of the low, the worst form of scum. They deserved to die, every one of them. SO I'm not the least bit upset that Kikyo killed them. I'm more upset that I didn't get to do it myself, because they tried to take you away from me."

"R-really?" she stammered, looking at him in shock. He nodded and then helped her to her feet, putting an arm around her shoulders as they walked. She let him, glad for the comforting warmth of him. His words helped her. She still wasn't happy about what she...no, he was right, it hadn't been her, it had been Kikyo, and she had simply been trying to protect her. That was what Kikyo did, and had always done. Perhaps...perhaps if she could get over her fear, then maybe she could learn to control Kikyo. She knew it wasn't going to happen overnight, but she also knew that if she had Acton with her, there was little she couldn't accomplish.

As they collected Katya and headed back to their inn, the two of them did their best to cheer her up, as if nothing had happened. By the time they were back to their rooms, Zalia was back to some semblance of her normal self. She laid down to go to sleep, her body bone weary. Just before she closed her eyes, her last thought was that as long as she had friends like Acton and Katya beside her, things would always turn out alright in the end, one way or another. She was a Fairy Tail wizard after all, and if there was one thing those of Fairy Tail believed in, it was to power of having a friend to support you.

**Authors Note: RIGHT! So! Firstly, I apologize that it took so long to write this. My brain was refusing to cooperate and give me ideas to write down. It's so glitchy sometimes that I think I should really get a new one. Can I do that? I think mine's defective. Get a refund or something. Secondly! I also apologize that this chapter was kinda dark. It needed to be, because it laid out some very important parts of Zalia. And just think! You guys got to meet Kikyo! She'll plan a big part later in the story, and there are also going to be some shenanigans involving Zalia, Kikyo, Acton, some crossed messages, some blatant flirting, and a fish. Lol, I'm kidding about the fish. Maybe. I'm not sure. Haven't made up my mind. XD Buuuuuuut anyway, gotta rin for now! I hope you guys liked what I've written so far, and please, leave a review and tell me what you think! Gotta run for now! Later!**


	5. Chapter 5

They returned to the guild a few days later, agreeing that it was the safest place for them to be. After a week, and nothing else happening, it was decided that Zalia could return to her normal routine. She and Acton began going on jobs together, enjoying themselves immensely. Zalia was glad to finally have a partner that she knew she could count on implicitly, and Acton was thankful for an experienced wizard to help him on his mission.

They were currently on a job to exterminate a pirate band that was based somewhere near the port city of Harjeon, and were scouring the shoreline for any potential spots that could hide a ship big enough to be used by a pirate crew. They had initially tried to search by boat, but Acton was too sick for that to work, so Zalia used the boat while Alex followed her on the land. After two days, they had discovered the base. They camped close by as they decided what to do.

"So," said Zalia as she tore into one of their packs of rations. "What sould we do, the quiet and sneaky approach, or a full frontal assault?"

Acton thought it over as he ate. "I don't think stealth is really gonna work here," he said slowly, still thinking. "I mean, I'd prefer the stealth option to an all out brawl, buuuut in this particular case, I have a feeling that the only way we're gonna get this done is to beat them into submission."

So, the next day, Acton swaggered into the base as bold as could be, and looked around with an expression of distaste. "Geez, what a dump," he said loudly, gaining the attention of all the pirates in the base.

"Well, wot 'ave we 'ere, mates?" said the nearest pirate, looking Acton up and down.

"Looks ta me like a likkle lost bird 'as wandered inta a nest a 'awks," replied another, who was sharpening a pair of daggers on a whetstone.

Acton shook his head, smirking, and said something, almost to himself.

"Wot was dat?" the first pirate snarled as he took a step forward, raising his cutlass threateningly.

Acton raised his head, his grin almost feral. "I said, not a bird, a dragon," he said, his grin getting wider. His hands glowed with brilliant golden light. "_Star Dragon Roar!_" He blew away several of the pirates as the others leapt forwards into the fight. It was over shortly after that.

"Whew, I think you went overboard," Zalia said as she finished tying up the last of the unconscious pirates and dragging them onto their own ship.

"Well, he's not done yet!" said a voice from the side. They both turned to see a man standing at the base of the gangplank, dressed in flamboyant clothes worthy of the most villainous movie pirate. The man took a step forward and bowed with exaggerated grandeur. "Pirate King Amakor at your service. The vilest pirate on all the 12 Seas!"

"I'm not sure that's something you should brag about," said Acton, stepping to the rail of the ship and folding his arms. "What, I'm taking it that you're the leader of the rabble then?"

Amakor laughed, although it never reached his eyes. "Aye, that I be," he said, bowing again. Acton leaped down to the dock and stood in front of him, sniffed the air, and then grinned.

"Well," he said, cracking his knuckles loudly. "You certainly look like fun. Well then let's get it on! _Star Dragon Blade Claw!_"

The pirate king dodged the attack and countered with one of his own, his hands wreathed in emerald green flames. "_Flame Make Grape Shot!_"

They battled back and forth, and to try and distract him, the pirate king began telling Acton about every one of the atrocities that he had committed over his long career. But instead of distracting him, it merely made him angry and galvanized him to even greater efforts to defeat the man before him. Then, to throw him off balance, Acton began to toy with him. He caught him by surprise and blasted him backwards into the cliff-side. The pirate king smashed through the stone and into one of the many caves that wormed their way through the cliffs.

Acton, grinning mischievously, winked at Zalia, then turned and called into the cave. "Hey, you alright in there?"

"Fanfuckingtastic," the pirates voice came back. "It's nothing but gumdrops and ice cream in here."

"OOOOH CAN I COME IN?!"

"*Sigh* I'm surrounded by idiots."

"I thought you said you were surrounded by gumdrops and ice cream."

"GRRRRAAAAAAAH!" The pirate king came flying out the cave, launching dozens of fiery arrows at Acton, who dodged them all with ease.

"Aweh, sounds to me like someone has an ice cream headache," Acton teased, and Zalia covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.

"OKAY THAT'S IT NOW EVERYONE DIES!" Amakor roared, a vein bulging in his forehead and his face turning purple with rage.

"Well that's not a very nice thing to say!" Acton said, dodging more attacks.

"OF COURSE IT'S NOT NICE, I'M FUCKING EVIL YOU IDIOT!"

"Well no shit, Sherlock," Acton said, then slammed into him. It was over seconds later. He tied up and dragged Amakor onto the ship with the others.

"You're the one who's evil," Zalia giggled, poking Acton in the ribs. "You totally made him lose his cool there."

"I know," Acton replied, laughing. "That was the intention. I have to admit though, I have no idea where the idea to say what it did came from."

They turned the pirates in, collected their reward, and then started to head back. They were deep in the Worth Woodsea, an area that Acton really enjoyed, although he couldn't put his finger on why.

"So what are we gonna do when we get home?" Zalia asked, walking alongside Acton as Kurai perched on her shoulder, happily eating the little bits of fruit Zalia fed her.

"Well, I was thinking that we could rest for a day or two and then see what job might catch our interest," he said, reaching over to scratch Kurai between the ears. "I have a few things I need to..." He trailed off, then stiffened.

"Acton?" Zalia asked, turning to look at him.

"Impressive," he said in a loud voice. "I almost didn't notice you until you got right on top of us. Why don't you come out where we can see you, hmm?"

Zalia looked at him, thoroughly confused, until a figure in a hooded robe stepped out onto the path in front of them. She gasped and edged around behind Acton as the person lifted their head and revealed the red metal demon mask. Acton was instantly on the defensive, his body tense.

"Manticore Fang," he growled, glaring at the person before him. "What, are you here to try and take Zalia again? If you are, that's not going to happen, cuz I'm ready for your tricks this time!"

"Is that so?" the man said. "Well then, we'll have to see, shall we? Come, we shall deal with this like gentleman. Whoever wins takes the lady."

Acton snorted. "Well, I highly doubt that anyone from Manticore Fang could be considered a 'gentleman', but I accept your challenge."

"Acton..." Zalia said, then trailed off. Then she gasped in surprise as he leaned down and kissed her cheek softly.

"Don't worry," he said, then stepped up to the man. "What's your name, then?"

"Call me Kinetix," he said, pulling a pair of metal backed gloves out of his cloak and slipping them on. He smacked one fist into the other, then nodded, apparently satisfied. "Very well then, let us fight." He flashed forwards, and Acton threw himself to the side.

*So fast!* Acton thought, dodging again as the man came at him a second time. *How is he doing that? No one should be able to move like that!*

"Acton!" Zalia called as he ducked a punch and blocked another, the strength of the blow making his teeth rattle. "Be careful! He's using Force Magic!"

"Aha! I see how it is, then," he said, blocking another strike. "That explains your name then. Star Dragon Talon!" His foot connected with Kinetix chest, sending the other man flying into the trees. The foliage exploded outwards and Kinetix lowered his upraised hand.

"Well then, since you've figured out my power, I won't have to hold back," he said, then held his hand out, palm facing Acton. "Strike!" A wave of power slammed into Acton and knocked him head over heels.

"Acton!" Zalia cried, but he staggered to his feet, wiping some of the blood off his face.

"I'm fine, Zal, don't worry," he said, then leveled a feral grin at Kinetix. "I have to say, that was a good hit. But now I'm excited, cuz it means I can try a few spells out that I haven't had the chance to use!" Acton raised his hand above his head, and a tiny speck of utter darkness appeared above his hand. "_Star Dragon Singularity Burst!_" He lowered his hand and the speck of darkness blasted outwards in an enormous beam of power, totally black in the center and outlined with white. Acton dropped to one knee, panting. "Wow, that was a lot more powerful than I'd expected."

"It wasn't all powerful as that."

Acton's eyes widened in shock as the dust cleared. Kinetix stood, arms crossed over his chest, surrounded by a glowing bubble of energy, completely unharmed. "No way, he whispered, stunned. "How could he have taken that hit without a scratch?"

"Let me show you," Kinetix said, a sneer in his voice. "_Strike!_"

Acton was blasted backwards to slam into a tree.

"_Strike!_"

He was sent soaring into the sky.

"_Strike!_"

He crashed into the ground.

"_Strike!_"

Acton was blasted deeper into the ground.

"_Strike!_"

"_Strike!_"

"_Strike!_"

"Stop it!" Zalia sobbed as Kinetix tossed Acton around like a toy. "Stop it, you'll kill him!"

"That was the idea, you little fool," Kinetix growled, stalking over to where Acton had landed and planting a booted foot on his battered face, grinding it into the dirt. "So, little Fairy, is that the best you can muster? It's truly pathetic."

He paused as Zalia started giggling. He turned to his, his mask hiding his expression. "Ah, I had heard tell of this," he said, his voice merely...interested. There was no trace of fear whatsoever. "You're not the girl who was there a second ago, are you? You name is Kikyo, if I recall."

"You're very well informed," giggled Kikyo, giving the Fang man a crazy smile. "Not that it will save you." She pointed at him. The air around him rippled, but nothing else seemed to happen. Kikyo pouted and stamped her foot like a small child. "A barrier? No fair no fair no fair!" She sighed and crossed her arms, looking Kinetix up and down. "Well, I suppose I'll just have to get my hands dirty then." She flashed forwards, and Kinetix just barely blocked her chopping blowl with a startled oath.

Kikyo giggled again as she chased him around. "I thought so. Your barrier blocks magical attacks but it useless against physical ones."

"Too bad for you that I'm a superb fighter, then," said Kinetix, blocking her blow and returning with one of his own. Suddenly, Kikyo was on the defensive, just barely warding off blow after blow after blow. It was clear that he was using his Force Magic to bolster his strikes.

Acton tried to push himself to his feet. "Z-Zalia," he whispered, rising slowly to his knees.

"As amusing as this has been, I tire of this sport," Kinetix said suddenly."_Rend!_"

And with that, he grabbed Kikyo's arm and ripped it off at the shoulder.

Kikyo looked down at the bloody stump where her arm had once been, and made a face. "Well, that's certainly unpleasant," she said, then her eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed.

Kinetix stared down at her for a moment, then turned and stalked over towards Acton. "Now for you. It's time to kill you and then be gone from this place."

"What have you done?" Acton whispered, his face dead white.

"Hm?" said Kinetix, cocking his masked head to one side. "Did you have something to say before you die?"

"What have you done?" Acton said again, louder this time, his body starting to shimmer with golden light.

"Oh? Still have some fight left, do you?" Kinetix said, standing over Acton now. He raised his hand, the air above it twisting and writhing with magic power. "Well, no matter, you'll be dead in a moment anyway."

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ZALIA!?" Acton bellowed. A shockwave of golden power blasted outwards from him, flinging Kinetix away. He crashed to the ground and rose slowly to his feet.

"What's this?" he murmured to himself. "How do you still have that much power left?"

Acton raised his head, and Kinetix took a step back. Acton's eyes were now a brilliant gold, instead of their normal green. "You hurt Zalia!" he snarled, his face a terrifying mask of pure rage. "I'll make you pay!" Something suddenly clicked in his mind, and his body shifted into a new stance, arms outstretched on either side of him. Magic circles appeared before each hand, another under his feet, and a fourth above his head. "_Dragon Slayer Secret Art Spectral Shift! Bladewing Transformation!_"

There was a brilliant flash of light, blinding Kinetix. When his vision cleared, he stumbled backwards in fear.

Acton was gone. Standing in his place was a creature unlike anything the dark mage had ever seen. It was at least ten feet tall, stood on two legs, had four arms, a long whip-like tail, and two tremendous wings sprouted from its back. Its fingers were tipped with viciously hooked claws, and three razor sharp bone blades ran up the outside of each forearm, with a longer fourth blade at the elbow and two more sprouting from each shoulder. It had a short snout filled with a double row shark teeth, except for two huge fangs that jutted from its upper jaw. Its body was covered in tawny gold fur, and it rippled with muscle. Its long tufted ears swivelled at the slightest noise, but its red, slit pupiled eyes were fixed totally on Kinetix.

"What are you?!" the dark mage cried, scrambling backwards desperately.

When the creature spoke, its voice was impossibly deep, rumbling up from its broad chest. "I am your end, and my name is Bladewing," he said. Kinetix hurled wave after wave of power at him, but like a man wading through water, Bladewing simply strode through them like they were nothing. He reached down and picked up the Manticore Fang mage, his massive hand wrapping around his throat, then raised him to eye level.

"I will not kill you," he rumbled as Kinetix trembled in sheer terror. "Although it is well within my rights to do so. Take this message back to your masters. If they EVER attempt to touch a member of my guild again, I will bring down the wrath of the heavens upon them." He turned and threw Kinetix away from him, sending the dark mage a good thirty feet through the air. "Now go, and let me never seen you again." He waited until the mage was long gone, then turned and sat down next to Zalia. There was another flash of light, and then Acton was sitting on the path once again, battered, bruised and bloody.

"Well," he said, after a long moment. "That was different." And then he passed out.

**Author's note: SO! Being the evil person I am, I was SORELY tempted to end the chapter right when Kinetix ripped Zalia/Kikyo's arm off, but I changed my mind because I'm: A.) Not that mean, and B.) I was on a roll with the writing and didn't want to stop. Lol. And don't worry about Zalia, she's going to be just fine! Trust me, the girl is a lot tougher than she looks. ;) Welp, that's all I got for now. I'm exhausted, so I'm heading to bed. I hope you guys liked it, and please, leave a review and tell me what you think! **

**Oh! one more thing! I'm gonna copy my friend Moo and give you the music I was listening to while I wrote this so you have the sound track! And this is all music from Fairy Tail. It helps me write better while thinking about the Fairy Tail universe. You can look all these up on Youtube with the exact song name.**

**Fight with the Pirates and Pirate King : Invoke Magic Ost - Extended**

**Fight between Acton and Kinetix: Released Power Ost - Extended**

**Fight Between Zalia/Kikyo and Kinetix: Tai Ma Gekisen Ost - Extended**

**Acton uses Spectral Shift: Fairy Law Ost - Extended**

**That's all I've got. By for now! I'll write the next bit just as soon as I come up with it! until then, don't forget, never stop smiling, it'll make you live longer!**

**Love-DarksaberX**


	6. Chapter 6

Elsewhere, Cordyle and Katya were having troubles of their own. The plan had been to meet up with Acton and Zalia on the other side of the Worth Woodsea and then head back to the guild together. However, the map they had brought with them had proved to be highly inaccurate, and because of this, they had become hopelessly lost.

"Let me see that blasted map," Cordyle said, holding his hand out. Katya handed him the map wordlessly, and he studied it for several minutes before growling in frustration and throwing it away. Katya picked it up and folded it neatly before placing it back in her bag as she had every other time he'd thrown it today. "This is bloody useless! How are we ever going to find our way out of these dammed woods?!"

"Relax, sweetie," Katya said, kissing his cheek. "Getting upset won't help us any." Cordyle, being from the tribes who lived in the eastern mountains, said several things in the tongue of his people that made Katya laugh, and then seemed to calm down a bit. "There, see? All better; now you'll be able to focus on getting us out of here."

Cordyle grinned in spite of himself. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her softly for a long moment. "What would I do without you?" he asked, smiling down at her tenderly.

She grinned in response and poked his nose. "Well, most likely wander around aimlessly with no idea as of what to do next."

"You're probably right," he said, laughing. "I'm totally hopeless without you." He turned and got down on one knee. "Here, hop aboard; let me do the walking and you can navigate."

She giggled and climbed up, wrapping her legs tightly around his waist and her arms loosely about his neck. She kissed his cheek and giggled again as he stood with a grunt and then started forward, carrying her easily as if she weighed no more than a child. Not surprising, really, when you considered the fact that Cordyle was one of the most powerful men in Fairy Tail, both physically and magically speaking.

"So then, mi'lady, where dost thou wishest thy noble steed to take thee?" he said, adopting a faux courtly manner.

Katya laughed. " 'Noble steed' my eye! More like an ignoble mule!" she giggled, poking him in the back of the head.

"Careful," he said, with a mock air of affronted dignity. "Or this stubborn old mule will find the nearest puddle and dump you in it!"

"Do and you'll be sleeping outside for a week!" Katya retorted, laughing. "And I'll have Draco whistle up a thunderstorm every night just for you!" Cordyle started to laugh, then stopped and froze as he pushed through a wall of vegetation and out onto a path. There clearly been a tremendous fight here; trees had been smashed to splinters, foliage shredded to tiny bits, and there were several large gouges and craters in the ground.

Then they saw the pool of blood and the arm lying in the center. And on the back of the hand was a very distinctive mark: a blue and pink Fairy Tail emblem.

"Oh god!" Katya gasped, then leapt from Cordyle's back and turned to be violently sick in the bushes. After she was finished, she wiped her mouth with a hand that shook and rinsed her mouth out with water from her canteen. "Cor, that's..."

"I know," he said, his face like granite, his eyes glittering dangerously. "Whoever did this is going to regret the day they were born."

"Cordyle? Katya? Is that you?"

They turned and Katya gasped again, dashing to where Zalia sat, propped upright against a tree. Acton lay on his back, his head pillowed in her lap, and she was slowly stroking his hair with her left hand.

"Zalia!" Katya cried, nearly sobbing with mingled relief that they were alive and fury at the state they were both in. "What happened?!"

"I'm all right," the other girl said quietly, smiling weakly. "But Acton's in a bad way."

"What?" Cordyle cried, incredulous. "You're arm's been ripped off! How on earth can that be considered 'all right'?"

"It's really not that big a deal," Zalia insisted. "I just need to rest and regain some of my magic power."

"Not a big deal?" Katya said, echoing Cordyle's tone of incredulity. "You don't need to rest, you need to get to a healer!"

"I AM a healer, in case you had forgotten," Zalia growled, her eyes flashing angrily. "And I know what I'm doing. I've been building up power so that I can do THIS." She squeezed her eyes shut and bared her teeth in a soundless snarl as she concentrated and focused all of her magic power into a single point. There was a series of grotesque wet popping, snapping, and sucking sounds, and the two of them macabre fascination as Zalia's arm began to grow. Bit by bit it repaired itself, first bone, then muscle and sinew, then veins, and finally skin. After only a few minutes, the process was complete and Zalia released the magic with a tired sigh. She leaned her head back against the tree, eyes closed, panting hard, her face flushed and glistening with sweat.

No one spoke for a few moments, the silence stretching. "Well," Katya said at last. "That was probably both the grossest and coolest thing I have ever seen in my entire life."

Zalia laughed weakly, her eyes still closed. She slowly raised her head as if it weighed a thousand pounds and then looked down, flexing her new arm slowly and carefully. "Well, it doesn't feel like I missed anything,' she said after a few moments. "It certainly seems to work, at any rate."

"How the hell did you do that?" Cordyle asked, thoroughly unnerved and looking at her arm as if it was some kind of dangerous animal that might bite him.

Zalia raised an eyebrow at him, smirking a little in spite of her weariness. "Poor excuse for a Flesh Smith wielder I'd be if I couldn't do something as simple as regrow a single limb," she said, making Katya laugh.

Cordyle bent down and then lifted Acton easily up onto his strong shoulders as Katya helped Zalia to her feet, letting the other girl lean against her heavily for support.

"So what the hell happened?" asked Katya again as they got slowly underway. As Zalia described the encounter with Kinetix, the two of them became angrier and angrier.

"Manticore Fang," Cordyle said, spitting the name out as if it tasted bad. "A bunch of scum sucking filth not fit to be called a guild."

Katya and Zalia both nodded. "But why do they keep going after Zalia?" Katya wondered, thinking out loud.

"It's not her they're after."

They all stopped, startled. Cordyle looked over his shoulder at Acton. "What do you mean?"

"They're not after her," Acton repeated. His voice was weak and thready, and when he coughed, a trickle of blood leaked out of the corner of his mouth.

"How do you know that?" asked Katya.

"Bladewing did," Acton explained. "He could see Kinetix's aura. It told him that Zalia wasn't their real target."

"Then who is?" said Cordyle.

"I am," he said.

Everyone was silent for a long moment. "Then why kidnap me?"

"To use as bait to draw Acton to them," Katya said, putting two and two together. "They knew that if they kidnaped you, Acton would stop at nothing to get you back."

"So then why do they want Acton?" Cordyle wondered.

"That, I don't know," he said. "Bladewing couldn't read any of that."

"Well then, perhaps we can shed some light on that particular subject.

"If you would just come with us, that is."

On the path in front of them stood two people, a man and a woman. They were obviously related, with brown hair, blue eyes, and refined, aristocratic features. They also both wore outfits emblazoned with the Manticore Fang emblem.

"Who are you?" Cordyle demanded, gently setting Acton down and materializing a sword in each hand.

"We're the Maxi Twins!" said the woman. "I'm Tia, and this is my brother Byro. We work for Manticore Fang. We were sent to retrieve you. Our guild master wishes to have a word or three."

"We'll just see about that," growled Cordyle.

**Author's note: Whooooo boy! So then, firstly, I apologize for how long it took to write this particular chapter. My brain was slow in spitting out ideas. Secondly, I've found my inspiration at last, so the chapters should start flowing a little faster from here on out. :D**

**Now then, as for this chapter, see, what did I tell you? Zalia was in no danger whatsoever! I told you she could handle herself! But just what have our heroes gotten themselves into now? You'll just have to tune in next time to see! I will tell you this much, next chapter, it will be the turn of our lovely husband and wife duo to shine! So, until then, remember, always smile and live each day to the fullest. The past is behind you, the future is unknowable, and today is a gift, that's why it's called the present! Chiao! **

**Love - Dark**


	7. Chapter 7

Cordyle twirled his swords expertly, placing himself protectively between these newcomers and the others.

"What do you want?" he growled, his blades held out before him in a ready stance. "I should warn you, I'm in no mood for stupidity from anyone today."

The woman, Tia, stepped forwards. "It's simple," she said, a placating smile on her face. "Our master simply wishes to speak with you. I promise you won't be harmed if you come along with us willingly, but if you resist..." Swords materialized in her hands, her meaning clear.

Cordyle smirked. "Battle Magic, huh?" he said, causing the pair to stiffen. "Yeah, I've seen the like before. Fought it too. You won't be much of a challenge. In case you're wondering, the answer is no."

Tia shrugged, and Byro folded his arms. "Can't say we didn't try," she said, then lunged at Cordyle. Her swords met only air, however. He moved like lightning, sidestepping her blow and slashing at her unprotected back. His swords glanced off a bluish barrier, causing him to back up a step and look over at Byro, who slowly lowered his hands.

"Oh so that's how it's going to be, eh?" he said, a positively feral grin on his face. "Well then, I'll just have to step it up a notch, won't I?"

He launched into another attack, their blades ringing and clanging as they fought back and forth. He cut sideways, forcing Tia to leap backwards, then bent backwards as a bolt from Bryo sailed over him. He blocked the next one on the flat of his blade, twisting and flinging it at Tia as she tried to rush him from the side, forcing her to dodge and foiling her attack. He leapt at Byron, but Tia lunged between them, catching both his swords on one of her own, pushing him back. He turned and locked blades with her again, forcing her around so that Byro couldn't get a clean shot in. As they fought, Katya explained what was happening quietly to Acton and Zalia, as if nothing was wrong at all.

"They use Battle Magic," she said, watching the fight with the same level of interest she might use to read a newspaper. "It's a two person style. They use specific styles, or 'Formations', one a close range fighter, the other a long ranged support type. It's clear the woman is the close range while the man is the supporter. Not that it's going to help either of them any."

"You aren't worried about any of this?" Zalia asked, fidgeting nervously as she watched Cordyle trading blows with Tia. They dueled back and forth, with Cordyle dodging and deflecting the occasional attack from Byro as well as all the strikes from Tia.

Katya shook her head. "Not in the slightest," she said, a small smile on her face. "Or did you forget that Cordyle is know as 'The Blade Emperor'? That title isn't just for show. He won't fall to a pair of amateurs like these two."

Indeed, Cordyle seemed to be easily holding his ground and in fact winning against his twin opponents. Byro had stepped up now, taking a sword from his sister, and they were attacking Cordyle from either side. Cordyle flowed easily from one movement to then next, locking blades with them both before kicking Tia away and delivering a quick bunch of slashes at Byro, several of which scored shallow gashes, causing the other man to cry out in pain and back away as Tia leapt forward once again, drawing Cordyle's attention before he could finish her brother off. He deflected a series of blows from Tia, ducked under a bolt of energy from Byron, blocked another blow from Tia, then swung his sword like a bat, sending the second bolt from Byron screaming right back at him, forcing the other mage to dive for cover. Then he slid on a loose patch of dirt, causing him to go down on one knee. Zalia screamed as time seemed to slow to a crawl and Tia slashed at Cordyle with a triumphant yell. Quick at a snake, Cordyle raised his bare hand in a seemingly futile gesture...and caught the blade.

"See, funny thing about Blade Maker Magic, as it's name implies, it allows you to make blades," he said, a smug grin on his face. "What most people don't realize is that those blades can be as big or as small as the mage wants them to be. For example, making thousands upon thousands of tiny blades just under the surface of my skin, allowing them to act like chain-mail. Hurts like hell to make it happen, but the level of protection is well worth it." With that, he flexed his hand, and the blade shattered under his fingers. As she gaped in astonishment at her now broken sword, he drew his free hand back and decked her with all his strength, sending Tia sailing backwards. She crashed to the ground and didn't get up, out cold. Cordyle turned then, swiftly deflecting the rapid series of shots Bryo sent screaming at him, walking forwards slowly as he did so, forcing the other mage to back up bit by bit. He suddenly lunged forwards and swung his arm around, catching the Fang mage across the jaw with the pommel of the sword. Byro's eyes rolled back and he dropped like a sack of bricks, hitting the ground with a thud and lay still, out as well.

Cordyle turned and bowed to the others, the smug grin still on his face. "Idiots," he muttered to himself, walking back towards his wife and friends. "Never assume that superior numbers gives you the upper hand. Come on, guys, let's get the hell out of here."

After Zalia had healed the few minor cuts he had, they got underway once more, leaving the two Fang members behind.

"We need to get to the bottom of this," Katya said as she helped Zalia along. "It's getting to the point where I'm afraid to let you two leave the guild hall without an army to keep you safe."

Acton nodded. "This is true," he said, coughing and then grimacing in pain. Every fiber of his body ached infernally. "Perhaps if we can find out why it is that Manticore Fang is so desperate to get ahold of us then perhaps we can put a stop to it and get them to leave us alone and-MOVE!"

He threw his weight forwards, knocking Cordyle off balance and sending them both to the ground, the bolt of energy sailing through the spot Cordyle's head had been a moment before. Another bolt thunked into his left shoulder, and a third into his right arm, causing him to cry out in pain, a fourth and fifth smacking into both of Cordyle's shoulders, making him fall back with a cry of mingled pain and rage. Byro and Tia stepped out of the woods behind them, Byro's hands still shimmering with energy.

"I told you not to underestimate us!" Tia called, swords appearing in each hand. "Let's see how you fight now!"

Acton staggered slowly to his feet, glaring defiantly at the siblings. He swayed where he stod, seemingly ready to topple over a the slightest provocation. "I may be battered and bloody," he said, his voice a low snarl. "I may be barely able to stand, but so help me, by everything that's holy, I WILL NOT LET YOU TOUCH THEM! Not so long as I'm alive, and not so long as I'm a Fairy Tail wizard!"

"Fine then," Tia said, twirling her swords." I'll just have to slice you up a bit too. Then I'll kill the rest and take you to my master." She lunged forwards.

"_FIRE DRAGON BRILLIANT FLAME!_"

"_SKY DRAGON WING ATTACK!_"

Brilliant flames and rushing winds crashed into Byro and Tia, blasting them backwards. When the smoke cleared, they were down, completely out this time, and two new figures stood before the group. The taller one was a young man, and the shorter one a girl. The man had messy pink hair, and was dressed in a loose black vest trimmed in yellow, baggy white pants, sandals, and had a scarf around his neck with a pattern reminiscent of scales. The girl had her long blue hair in twin tails on either side of her head, and wore a simple green dress that had blue and yellow stripes near the top. Both had Fairy Tail emblems on their shoulders.

None of the four had ever seen either of these people before, but they all knew instantly who they were.

"So," said Natsu Dragneel, turning to glare at them. "Who are you, why are you wearing the Fairy Tail symbol, and where the hell are we?"

**Author's Note: KABLAM! Okay, so I know it took FOREVER for me to write this, and I sincerely apologize to you guys for that. It was a combination of writer's block and that annoying thing know as reality that kept getting in the way. BUT! You guys have to admit it was worth the wait. I''m pretty impressed, if I do say so myself! Lol. Anywho, hope you enjoyed this, and I promise to get the next chapter up just as quick as I can. So until next time, don't forget to smile, you'll live longer. Chiao! **


	8. Chapter 8

"So let me get this straight," said Natsu, looking at them one after another, drumming his fingers on the tabletop. They had returned to the guild hall, after convincing Natsu and Wendy that they were, in fact, members of Fairy Tail. Now, after the chaos their appearance had caused, they had all sat down at one of the tables along with Guild Master Antory and Lyla, the guilds record keeper. "We got blasted 150 years into the future, where Fairy Tail is still on top, and you guys are some of the most powerful wizards in the guild?"

Acton nodded, sitting back in his chair and folding his arms behind his head. Thanks to both Wendy's and Zalia's healing abilities, his body felt better than it had in ages. "That about sums it up," he said, staring up at the ceiling as he thought of everything he knew about the past 150 years, and if any of it was something Natsu would be interested in. Then he realized that it didn't matter. Natsu had apparently been notorious for not caring about something unless it was right under his nose, or had to deal with fighting.

"So then, do either of you know how you got here?" Zalia asked from where she sat behind Wendy, brushing out the younger girl's hair. Zalia had found an instant friend in the Sky Dragon Slayer, the two of them feeling like they'd known each other all their lives. Wendy shook her head slightly, and Natsu grunted, a rather grouchy look on his face.

"No," he said, glaring at the ceiling. "Wendy and I were out on a job together, and out of nowhere there was this big flash of light, and when we could see again, we were standing off to the side of the road and you guys where there. That's about all we know."

"Not a whole lot to go on then," Lyla murmured to herself as she leafed through one of the numerous books she always had with her. "What color was the light, did you see?"

"Kinda purplish, I think," said Natsu, stacking his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair.

"I'd say violet, to be specific," Wendy said, trying to be helpful.

"Violet light that launched you 150 years into the future," Lyla said, again to herself. "Still not a lot, but it's a start. I'll go through the records and see if there is anything that might match that description." She turned and left, still muttering to herself as she ran through things in her mind.

Guild master Antory turned back to Natsu once Lyla was out of sight. "So, what will you do now? You're more than welcome to stay in the dorms while you're here, but I suggest you stick around the guild hall for the time being," he said, folding his arms and sitting back. "If a lot of people see you running around and going out on jobs, it might cause you some problems, not to mention you'd have to explain how you got here to practically every single person you come across."

"Yeah, that would be a pain in the ass," Natsu said, gazing up at the ceiling. "It'd get really old really fast having to tell that story over and over and over again."

"I think for the moment the best course of action is to wait and see if Lyla turns up anything in the records," Cordyle said after a long drink from his mug. "If I know her, she'll have something by the day after tomorrow at least, if not before then."

"Hey, Acton!" Natsu said sitting up suddenly. "So you're another Dragon Slayer, right?"

"Yeah, I am," he said, fighting to keep his face straight. He knew what was coming next. "What of it?"

"FIGHT ME!" Natsu roared, leaping over the table, his hands enveloped in flames. "I wanna see who's tougher!"

Acton blocked his punch, his hands haloed in golden light. "Bring it on, charcoal breath!" he retorted, grinning hugely. They fought back and forth across the guild hall, knocking over chairs, smashing tables, and sending people running for cover. They gathered around the edges of the guild hall, cheering and yelling encouragement as the two slugged it out. Natsu delivered a punch to Acton's jaw that sent him staggering back, creating a lull in the fighting as the two circled each other, searching for an opening. Both were grinning like lunatics, enjoying themselves to the hilt.

"_Fire Dragon Roar!_"

"_Star Dragon Roar!_"

The twin breath attacks collided and blew outwards, knocking everyone off their feet, but that didn't dampen the mood. If anything, everyone started cheering louder as they threw themselves at each other once more; even Guild Master Antory was shouting at the top of his lungs, cheering them both on equally.

They broke apart again, panting, and Natsu wiped some sweat from his forehead. "You're good," he said, grinning. "I'm all fired up now! Time to kick it up a notch! _Fire Dragon Iron Fist!_"

Acton was right there, not a second behind him. "_Star Dragon Solar Claw!_"

The two of them traded blows for a while, but it was becoming clear that they were so perfectly matched that they were tiring at the exact same rate. The fight went on for a good twenty minutes longer before the two of them finally stopped, leaning against each other, too exhausted to continue fighting any longer.

"That...was a fight...that I will...never forget," Natsu gasped out, panting.

Acton was breathing just as hard, but he managed a grin in spite of how tired he was. "Same here," he said, standing and helping Natsu to his feet. "You are an amazing wizard, my friend. It's really no wonder you're one of the most legendary wizards of all time."

Once the guild hall had been set to rights once more, they all sat down to eat, Acton and Natsu having worked up an enormous appetite fighting. Between the two of them, they cleared an entire table laden with food down to the last crumb, then leaned back in their chairs, identical expressions of supreme contentment on their faces.

"That's it!" Katya cried suddeny, slapping the tabletop with her hand, causing them all to jump in surprise.

"What's it?" asked Zalia, looking at her in confusion.

"The magic!" she said excitedly. "The magic that sent Natsu and Wendy to our timeline! It makes sense now! It's Dimensional Rift Magic!"

"Dimensional Rift Magic?" Wendy repeated, looking thoughtful. "I've never heard of it before. What kind of magic is it?"

"And how do you know that, love?" Cordyle added, looking at her in surprise.

"My great great grandfather was a Dimensional Rift user," she explained. "I saw him use it once or twice when I was little and looked up more info when I got older." She paused to organize her thoughts before going on. "Dimensional Rift Magic is actually a very old form of magic, more closely related to the Arc types of magic's, like Arc of Time or Arc of Embodiment. While able to be used offensively, it's main strength lies in the ability to open doors, or rifts, to other dimensions, other worlds. It allows the mage to pull creatures, weapons, and even people from these worlds and control them. A sufficiently powerful wizard could summon and command an entire army of beings from other dimensions."

There was a stunned silence for a long moment. "That sounds...really bad," said Acton, looking around at the others. "If someone evil had that kind of power..." The others around the table nodded grimly.

"I'm impressed that you figured that out as quickly as you did," a voice called from the door. They all turned to look, and then everyone in the guild shot to their feet with mingled shouts and cries of alarm. Marko Reymius, Shadow Magic user and guild master of Manticore Fang stood framed in the doorway, surrounded on either side by dozens of his guild members. He was an older man, the same age as Antory, with dark grey eyes, shoulder length silver hair, and short, but stocky, well muscled. He wore burnished silver armor, and a black velvet cape trimmed with white fur. He wore a short sword on his hip and a small round shield with the Manticore Fang emblem. "Brother! It has been a long time!"

Antory rose to his feet slowly, his face a neutral mask. "You no longer have the right to call me brother, Marko," he said, his voice cold as smoking ice. "Why are you here? If it's a fight you want, you know my guild is more than a match for you."

Marko held his hands up placatingly. "I am not here to fight you, my old friend," he said, motioning for his guild members to step back outside. "I have need to speak with you, Mr. Neha, and his friends. Perhaps there is somewhere private we can speak?"

Antory looked at Acton, who shrugged, then turned back to Marko. "Very well, follow me."

**Authors note: Well! This took a little longer than I wanted, but not as long as I'd feared. Twisty plots are a bit of a specialty of mine, so I hope you all like it. Now that my brain has finally settled itself, I SHOULD be able to spit out the next chapter sooner. I hope you guys like how the story has been going so far, and I promise it's only going to get better from here, I assure you. Gotta go for now, but remember, always smile!**

**Love - Dark**


	9. Chapter 9

"Let me start at the beginning," Marko said, looking around at everyone. They had retired to one of the many conference rooms in the Fairy Tail guild hall, a room which consisted of a large oval table, chairs, and a huge map of Fiore on one wall. Acton, Zalia, Cordyle, Katya, Guildmaster Antory, Natsu, and Wendy all sat around the table, watching Marko as he paced back and forth talking. "Tell me, have any of you ever heard of a being called Sha'kir?" He paused, looking at them, before going on. "I'll take that as a no. Anyway, Sha'kir is the reason my guild exists."

"What is that supposed to mean?" demanded Natsu, glaring at the Shadow Mage.

"Sha'kir is not human," he said, folding his arms and leaning against the wall. "No one is actually sure what he is. All we know is that he is both very, very old, and extremely powerful. He uses Dimensional Rift magic and has conquered thousands of worlds; he has an army of utterly loyal creatures called the Mallaketh, beings that are bred purely for battle. They are resistant to magic and live only to fight."

"How do you know all of this?" asked Wendy, looking curiously at Marko.

"Because it is information that was given to our first guild master by Zeref," Marko replied.

"WHAT?" everyone yelled in surprise.

"Just wait!" Marko yelled above the clamoring, then when everyone was quiet, he went on. "Sha'kir attempted to conquer our world once before, long in the past, but Zeref stopped him. The invasion attempt resulted in a massive war that wiped out almost half of the world's population."

Silence greeted this statement, and he went on. "To prevent Sha'kir from entering this world again, Zeref created a powerful barrier between our world and his, and then charged our first master with protecting and maintaining this barrier to prevent Sha'kir from ever breaching it, a duty which we have faithfully carried out down through the centuries."

"By what, slaughtering hundreds of innocent people just because they happened to get in your way?" Acton demanded, rising to his feet angrily, his fists clenched at his sides. He stalked towards Marko slowly, fury seeming to radiate off him in waves, his body glowing faintly with power. "People like you make me sick, you give humanity a bad name and you should all be wiped off the face of the earth!"

Marko merely raised an eyebrow at Acton's vehemence and smirked. " 'People like me'?" he repeated softly, looking Acton straight in the eyes without even a trance of fear. "That's pretty rich coming from you, Mr. Neha."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Acton spat, glaring at him.

"Oh, nothing," said Marko airily, then turned back to the others. "Now, the reason I have come here is because recently, the barrier has started to weaken, and there is a significant risk of Sha'kir and his armies breaking through. If that should happen…well, I'm not sure that there is anything that anyone of use could do to stop them. That is also why such strange things like Mr. Dragneel and Ms. Marvel have appeared here in our world. His power is growing, since the barrier is no longer blocking him as it used to. There are going to be more disturbances like that, and they are only going to get worse as the barrier gets weaker. Put simply, we need your help."

Everyone was quiet as they all thought this over. "Hate us if you will for our methods; despise us if it will make you feel better," Marko said softly. "But never question our dedication. Never question our resolve. We have done what was needful to keep this world safe from an evil the likes of which you cannot comprehend. Yes, our methods are brutal, and yes, we have done some terrible things in the past. But we have made the choices that needed to be made in order to keep Sha'kir from ever getting to this world, and now we are asking for your help."

"I dunno," said Zalia, standing up. Acton, Antory, and Katya all tensed upon hearing the change in her voice, but Marko backed up a pace when she raised her head and he saw her yellow eyes. Kikyo giggled at his reaction, then leaned back against the wall. "Seems to me that the only reason you would do something like this is if YOU got something out of it." She raised an eyebrow and smirked.

Marko recovered remarkably fast and spread his hands. "Not sure what else you want me to say," he said, shrugging. "The fact remains that we need your help and Fairy Tail is the only guild that would even listen to us. The other guilds all attacked us on sight."

"With good reason," Kikyo countered, giving him her craziest smile, which caused him to gulp nervously and back up another step. "I certainly wouldn't trust you farther than I can throw you, and that would be pretty damn far. Welp, I'm done here. C'mon Acton." With that, she grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room.

"Hey, Kikyo, what're-?" Acton spluttered as she tugged him along. Then he yelped as she pushed him back against the wall and put a finger of his lips.

"Shush," she said softly, looking around to make sure no one was watching. "Listen to me, do not trust Marko."

"Well, of course I-" he started.

"Shut up!" she hissed, putting her hand completely over his mouth and pressing close to him. "Listen to me first! There is something WRONG with him. He smells of darkness."

"What do you mean?" he asked, his voice muffled by her hand. He took her wrist and moved it. "Of course he smells of darkness; he is a shadow magic user after all."

Kikyo shook her head. "No, you don't understand. Shadows are merely something standing in the way of the light. Darkness is the complete absence of any light at all."

"Sooooooo you're saying what?" Acton asked, looking at her in confusion.

"I'm saying that he isn't telling us everything and that there is something inherently dark about him," she said quietly. "And I'm not sure what it is. Just promise me that you'll be careful around him, alright?"

Acton smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of turning my back on a lunatic like Marko Reymius."

Kikyo then surprised him by standing on tiptoe and kissing his cheek. "Atta boy," she said, then with a wink, turned and skipped off. Acton stared after her, reaching up and touching the spot where her lips had brushed his skin.

Once out of sight, Kikyo stopped to lean against a wall and dissolved into a fit of giggles. The look on Acton's face after she'd kissed him had been priceless.

***Mind telling me what that was all about?***

Kikyo stiffened in surprise. "Who….wait…..ZALIA? How am I able to hear you?"

***I haven't the foggiest idea,*** said Zalia, her voice echoing in Kikyo's mind. ***But this time when you came to the surface, instead of going to sleep like normal, I was wide awake and able to hear everything, I just wasn't able to do anything about it.***

"I wonder what this could mean," Kikyo murmured, staring at the wall thoughtfully.

***I'm not sure either, but while we think about it, can I have my body back please?***

"Oops! Sorry!" Kikyo closed her eyes for a long moment, and when she opened them again, they were once more their normal maroon color.

"Right, that's much better," Zalia said, stretching luxuriously. "Can you hear me?"

***Yup, loud and clear!*** came the reply, Kikyo's voice cheerful. ***This is great! Now I won't keep leaving you out to dry as you wait for me to wake up! Noow I can just hop in whenever you need me to! And perhaps I might come out every once in a while and have some fun.***

Zalia, who had been walking towards the door, paused. "What do you mean, 'have some fun'?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

***Oh, I don't know,*** Kikyo said, her voice full of innocence. ***Acton might be fun to play with, see how far I could get.***

Zalia gasped, blushing furiously. "You wouldn't dare!"

Kikyo cackled wickedly, and Zalia could practically feel her crazy smile.

Elsewhere in the guild hall, Acton was making his way downstairs to the bar to get something to drink when an arm shot out of a doorway and dragged him inside. He yelped in surprise and struggled for a moment until he saw that the arm belonged to Lyla.

"Lyla, what the hell?" he cried, shaking her off and glaring at her. "You have any idea how close you came to getting blasted just now?"

"Sorry, Acton, but we need to talk."

Acton turned around as Katya got up from the chair she'd been sitting in. "Talk about what?" he asked warily, getting a odd vibe from Katya's expression.

"About you," she said, searching his face for a long moment. She glanced at Lyla, who nodded, then took a deep breath. "Does the name Freso Arlani mean anything to you?"

At the sound of the name, pain lanced through his brain like the blade of a knife, causing him to cry out and drop to his knees. He squeezed his eyes shut and screamed as the pain intensified, blocking out everything. It felt like someone was drilling a hole in his skull and then trying to pull his brain out through a straw. The pain reached an excoriating peak, then just as suddenly as it had started, it vanished, leaving him laying on the floor gasping and panting, his face covered in sweat, his body shivering.

"A…Acton?" Lyla's soft voice penetrated the fog that surrounded his mind, and he slowly opened his eyes, wincing at the light coming through the window, which seemed twice as bright as it had before. "Acton? Are you okay?"

"I…..I think so," he replied, his voice ragged and hoarse. "I just….I…oh god….. ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod I killed them. All those people, and I killed them!" He clutched his head in his hands, tears streaming down his face.

"Acton, what-?" Katya began before the door burst open, and Zalia dashed in. She looked around wildly, taking the in the scene in a heartbeat, then instantly dashed to Acton and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close to her as he sobbed uncontrollably.

"What the hell is going on?" she demanded, glaring at Katya and Lyla in turn. "Why is Acton in this state? What the hell did you two do to him?"

"We woke him up," said Lyla sadly, her eyes brimming with tears.

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking worried now.

"We found some information about Acton's past," Katya explained, sitting back down in her chair. "A name; Freso Arlani."

"Don't say that name!" Acton snarled suddenly, startling the three girls. He took a deep shuddering breath, and it seemed to calm him down a little. "Don't say that name." After a few moments, he began to talk. "My full name is Actonala Parlevo Nehantis, and I come from a small village called Entei on the southern coast of Fiore. My father, mother, two older brothers, and a younger sister, were all fishers. We had a small fleet of three ships; one for my father and oldest brother, one for me and my older brother, and one for my mother and sister. We were relatively successful, not flush, but we lived comfortably and never wanted for anything, even if we couldn't always get the things we'd liked to have had."

The others were silent, listening to him as he continued to speak. "Then about five years ago, a roving band of marauders came through the area. They attacked and ransacked the village, plundering and murdering. My…my father, mother, sister, and older brother were all killed in the initial attack. The only reason I survived was because my oldest brother Alec and I were out doing some night fishing at the time."

Here he paused and took another shuddering breath. "By the time we got back to shore, everyone was either dead or dying, and the raiders were long gone. But then…." His fist clenched hard and they could hear the utter fury in his voice, which caused them all to shiver a little in fear. "They left traps. It wasn't enough that they had already ransacked the village and murdered a bunch of innocent people, but they left TRAPS behind for anyone who might try to come along and help. My…my brother triggered one of the traps and was killed right in front of me." He was silent for a long moment. "I cleaned things up as best I could, taking care to find and disable the rest of the traps, then buried the dead and left. After much digging and searching, I found out that the raiders who had attack the village were led by a brutal madman by the name of Freso Arlani."

"It took me two years to track them down. During that time, I learned how to use and control my magic, which I had discovered quite by accident. I finally caught up with them just outside of Magnolia, which was evidently their next target. I attacked without a single plan in my head, just charging into the camp and laying waste to them." He began to cry again, tears streaming down his cheeks. "The whole time, all I could think of was my family, my friends, all the people I had grown up knowing. I killed them, all of them, every last one. I reached Arlani last."

He was silent for much longer this time before he spoke again, and this time his voice was soft, just barely above a whisper, so that the others had to strain to hear him properly. "I tore him apart. He begged me, on his knees to spare his life, and I simply spat in his face and tore him to shreds. I suppose, in a way, I died that day; after I collapsed, Actonala Nehantis vanished, and Acton Neha was born. I became the person you know today, and the old me went to rejoin the family he had lost. Fairy Tail is my family now, though I can understand if everyone would want me to leave. A murderer like me has no place in a guild like this."

He blinked in surprise when Zalia slapped him lightly on the back of the head and looked up at her. She was smiling gently, her face as tear streaked as his was. "Come on Acton, you know better than that," she said softly, her voice thick with emotion. "You said it yourself, we're family. What kind of family would we be if we threw you out for something that had been done a long, long time ago. Everyone has demons, some more visible than other." Here she smirked wryly, causing him to chuckle a little in spite of himself. "But the fact remains that we're here for you, and we will help you no matter what happens."

"That's right," said a voice from the door. They turned to see Natsu leaning against the frame, Wendy peaking over his shoulder. He strode into the room and knelt down next to Acton, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Fairy Tail is a family, and families help each other out when one of its members is in trouble or hurtin'. And most importantly , families FORGIVE each other. Tell me, did those raiders deserve what you did to them?"

"Well, I-"

"Ah ah ah, answer the question. Did they deserve it?"

"I suppose, but-"

"Would anyone be better off if those scumbags weren't pushin' up daisies?"

"No, but I-"

"Then shut up," Natsu said, grinning cheerfully. "You paid them back for what they did to your village and everyone else that they had ever hurt. If I were you, I'd have done the exact same thing. The fact that you feel bad about what you did just proves that you're a good person; a friend of mine taught me that a long time ago."

"Oh, I'm just a friend now, am I?"

"He did seem to demote you there, didn't he?"

"Aye, sir!"

Everyone in the room froze and turned slowly. Framed in the doorway was a young lady; she had long blonde hair that was done up in a tail on one side of her head, and wore a blue skirt with a white shirt that had blue edging with a thin blue stripe running up the middle and a larger blue stripe across her chest. Attached to her belt over her left hip was a coiled bullwhip and over her right a ring with a number of gold and silver keys jingled softly. Hovering over her left shoulder was an electric blue cat with a small green backpack and wings sprouting from his back, and over her right shoulder hovered another winged cat, white this time, wearing a small pink dress.

Natsu reacted first. "LUCYYYYYYYY!" he yelled joyously, throwing himself forwards and wrapping his arms around her. He lifted her up in the air and spun her around several times before setting her back on her feet and kissing her sweetly, a gesture which she returned with interest. When they finally broke apart, they gazed at each other, grinning.

"What're you doin' here?" Natsu asked, hugging her tight before letting go of her and taking her hand.

"Well, quite frankly I haven't the slightest idea," Lucy said as Wendy hugged Happy and Carla. "The three of us were returning to Magnolia from a job in Hargeon when there was this flash of violet light and then suddenly we were outside this room."

"So who are these people and why are they here in our guild hall?" Carla asked, looking around at everyone. Natsu and Wendy quickly brought them up to speed on everything that had been going on, and all the information that they knew. By the time they were finished, everyone had moved downstairs into the main hall, and they were all sitting around one of the tables.

"Alright, so what're we going to do about the whole thing?" Lucy asked, looking from one to the other.

"For the moment, nothing," said Antory, folding his arms and leaning back in his seat. "Marko and his guild have returned home for the time being while we decide what to do, and as for Acton's regained memories, I really don't see how that changes anything."

Acton looked up at him, startled. "What do you mean, master?" he asked.

"What you did before you came to us doesn't matter to me," he said, his voice gentle yet hard as iron. "The fact remains that we found you, broken, bloodied, and near death, and in return, you have dedicated the last three years of your life to this guild, being the hardest working out of all of us, even when you didn't have use of your own magic. And after you recovered it, you worked even harder to learn how to use it so that you could help and protect the members of this guild even more than before. You have time and again put yourself between danger and your guildmates, willing to put your body and safety on the line to keep them safe. If that doesn't deserve a second chance, then I don't know what does. As far as I'm concerned, Acton Neha is a trusted and valued member of the Fairy Tail guild, and I don't know this supposed murderer Actonala Nehantis."

Acton was silent for a long moment. Then, to everyone's surprise, he stood and bowed deeply to Antory. "Thank you, guild master," he said softly. "If you'll excuse me." He turned and left the guild hall quickly. Wendy suddenly nudged Zalia with her elbow, and when she looked down and the young girl, Wendy jerked her head meaningfully in the direction Acton had taken.

"What?" Zalia asked, a little confused.

"Go after him!" she said, pointing. "He's hurting, and he needs someone to comfort him!"

"Me?!" Zalia squeaked. "But….but why me?"

"Oh don't be stupid," Katya said, getting up and coming around the table to pull Zalia to her feet and then give her a little push in Acton's direction. "Everyone in the guild can tell he cares for you, even if he himself has never said it."

"Wait….I….he…..what?" Zalia spluttered, her head spinning.

Katya raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you honestly going to tell me that you never noticed?"

Now that she thought about it, it DID make sense. It would explain the way his face lit up every time she came into the room, how he was always willing to drop whatever he was doing. How he always rushed to her rescue whenever she needed help, how he had unflinchingly thrown himself between her and danger again and again.

"Well, maybe a little," she said softly, blushing a little, a smile tugging at her lips. She turned to Katya, opened her mouth, then closed it again and ran out after Acton.

Katya watched her go, twirling a lock of hair between her fingers, then smiled to herself. "Atta girl," she murmured, then turned and walked back to the table.

Natsu turned and looked at Lucy, then took her hand and smiled. "You remember when we were like that?" he asked her, running his thumb over the sunset opal ring on her finger.

She smiled at the memories and leaned over the table and kissed his cheek. "Like it was yesterday," she replied, then, tugging him up, the two of them wandered out of the guild hall together, Natsu with his arm around her shoulder and hers around his waist.

"Where're those two going?" asked Lyla, looking after them.

"Oh they're just going for a walk," Wendy said with a smile. "They like to do that to spend time together. Don't worry, they'll be just fine."

It took Zalia nearly an hour to find Acton, and even then it was only by accident because she happened to look up and see him leaning over a railing. He had climbed up the tower of the Magnolia church and stood staring out over the city.

She climbed the stairs and then stood behind him for a little while, uncertain. She had just opened her mouth to speak when Acton beat her to it.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he said, waving his arm at all of Magnolia arrayed out before them, bathed in the reds, oranges and golds of a glorious sunset. "I like to come up here when I need to think and clear my head."

Zalia stepped up next to him and looked out at the beautiful vista before them. "Good choice," she said softly, turning to look at him. She studied his face, as dozens of emotions chased themselves back and forth over his handsome features. Anger, fear, sadness, confusion, hurt; these and many others besides appeared one after another. "Acton-"

"Don't," he said, cutting her off. He turned to her, and she could see the tears in his eyes. "Look at me, Zal. I'm a monster! I murdered more than twenty men in cold blood, fueled by nothing more than my own unquenchable desire for revenge. I didn't just want to see them hurt; I wanted them to suffer, just as I had, feel the pain and anguish I had carried with me all those years." He held up his hands, which were shaking. "With these two hands, I brought death to a score and a half of men, slaughtered them like animals!"

Zalia reached up and gently took his hands in her own, lacing their fingers together. "And I have seen these same hands used to protect me and my friends from danger, seen them used to cook and clean and care for others around the guild hall. Fairy Tail is where you belong Acton! If you leave, it won't be the same! If you leave...if you leave, then there would be no reason for me to stay any longer either! Your guild is your family, and you don't abandon them!" She pulled her arms around behind her back, still holding onto his, forcing him to close with her, his arms essentially around her now, his face only inches away from her own. He gulped and blushed brilliantly; she paused, her mind in over drive, her fear and nervousness paralyzing her.

***Oh for the love of all things bright and shiny!*** she heard Kikyo mutter, and felt her briefly reach out, and her arms tightened a little, and their lips met. She held absolutely still for a long moment, afraid she'd gone too far, then suddenly, Acton let go of her hands and wrapped his arms around her tightly, pulling her close and kissing her deeply. She hesitated for half a second in surprise and then melted into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and returning his kiss with equal passion.

When they finally came up for air, both were breathing hard and their faces where flushed. Acton held her close for a long moment, not speaking, his eyes closed and his forehead pressed gently against hers. "You're right," he said softly, his voice rough. "Fairy Tail is where I belong, and you should never abandon family."

Zalia giggled a little and shook her head. "Just shut up and kiss me," she said, and pulled his head back down.

And inside her mind, she distantly heard Kikyo chuckle softly. ***Atta girl.***

**Authors note: Aaaaaaaaaalrighty then! So, I very much apologize for the super long delay. But you know as I've said there was a really good reason. Now then, things are certainly beginning to take off. I hope you guys have liked this story and I'm glad you guys are sticking with me.**

**I would like to give a special thanks to my friend Mooifyou'recows, who has given me every encouragement and tons of advice while writing this story, and even let me pick her brain and bounce ideas off her a number of times. As I said, Moo, I did have a treat for you, and I hope you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it. **

**Oh, and in case any of you were wondering where the NaLu bit came from, allow me to explain. The Natsu, Wendy, and Lucy in my story are the ones from Moo's story "Her Strength", which if you haven't read, I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend, along with pretty much anything else she writes. Lol. **

**Now then, things are only going to get better from here. I finally have a definite****idea where my story is going, so now it's going to start coming a little faster a better, I promise. There's going to be happiness, excitement, some sadness, a little heartbreak, and pretty much everything else you've come to expect from the Fairy Tail universe. I'm glad you guys have come along on this ride through my imagination, and I hope you're enjoying the view thus far. Now then, onward to the next chapter, and until then, have fun, live hard, and don't forget to SMILE!**

**Love - Dark**


	10. Chapter 10

The next several weeks went by like a blur for Acton. If he wasn't training with Natsu and Wendy to improve his Dragon Slaying powers, then he was spending time with Zalia, and by extension, Kikyo. Despite the seemingly peaceful exterior, however, there was an underlying thrum of tension. Manticore Fang had returned home to make preparations while Fairy Tail readied itself to assist them. All the members were gearing themselves up for what they knew was going to be a tremendous fight, and some of them were seriously starting to wonder what the guild's chances were in a war the likes of which Marko had described. Despite this, everyone was eager to do their part, and a kind of busy energy had filled everyone, and they were eager for the action to start. They got their wish much sooner than expected.

"So what is it?" Acton asked, folding his arms and looking at the machine in front of him. He tilted his head, staring at the confusing mass of tubes, wires, and lacrima that stuck out of the thing at all sorts of odd angles.

"Well, it's a detector," Katya said, coming out from behind it and wiping the grease off her hands. "And if I've done it right, then it should be able to detect Dimensional Rifts when they open, allowing us to get to the area and deal with whatever popped out of them."

"That certainly sounds useful enough," Acton said. He was about to say more when the thing lit up like a Christmas tree and began buzzing and whining. After a few moments it went silent and spat out a small piece of paper with some coordinates on it. Lyla, who had been standing off to the side watching, swiftly grabbed it and walked over to a large map mounted on the wall.

"Here!" she said, pinpointing the spot. "Just outside the eastern edge of Magnolia!" Natsu, Acton, and Cordyle were halfway across the guildhall before she'd even finished speaking. They reached the spot in record time, finding a charred circle of grass in the center of a forest glade. They approached it carefully, Acton and Natsu both sniffing the air, searching for any scents that might tip them off. After almost fifteen minutes of searching, the regrouped in the center of the glade.

"Anything?" Cordyle asked, then sighed as both Acton and Natsu both shook their heads. "Dammit. Well, whatever it was, it's probably long gone by now."

Acton rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "What do you suppose it was?"

Natsu opened his mouth to respond when he suddenly froze, then whipped around, staring hard at the forest behind him. Cordyle started to ask what was wrong, but Natsu silenced him with a raised hand. He took a step forward, then was forced to dodge aside as bolts of reddish-black energy ripped out of the trees and blasted a hole where he'd been standing just moments before. Acton and Cordyle leapt aside as more bolts sizzling out of the foliage at them as well. 

* * *

Back at the guild, Zalia sat next to the door, chewing nervously at a fingernail as she waited for Acton and the others to return. Sensing her anxiety, Kikyo tried to calm her down a little.

***Relax, lil' sister,*** she said cheerfully. ***Between the three of them, they'll beat the snot out of whatever came through that gate and then come back here and promptly eat everything in sight.***

But Zalia shook her head. "It's not that," she said, leaning back against the wall and staring up at the ceiling. "I just can't shake the feeling that something is about to go very wrong."

There was a long pause. ***Do you think that we should go talk to Antory?*** Kikyo asked, her voice unusually serious. Zalia bit her lip, unsure, knowing they were both thinking the same thing; the last time Zalia had one of those feelings, her entire family had been killed and Kikyo had been created. Unbidden, the memories sprang into her mind, crystal clear and painfully sharp.

_Zalia ran through the woods, heedless of the branches and stones that tore at her arms and legs, leaving long red scratches. Her breathing came in ragged, high pitched gasps, a pain in her side. She risked a glance over her shoulder to see if they were still after her and promptly tripped over a protruding root and went crashing to the ground. Her head struck a rock, causing brilliant lights to flash and pop before her eyes, and then roaring darkness engulfed her._

_When she came to, she opened her eyes slowly, wincing at the light, her head banging fiercely. It took her a few moments to realize that she was lying tied up on her side in front of a fire. She heard voices off to her left, speaking a tongue that she neither recognized nor understood. A hand suddenly reached down and dragged her up by her hair, causing her to cry out, the pain in her head intensifying. She was then thrown down onto what felt like a sleeping back, and heard what sounded like zippers and buckles being undone. The blood drained from her face even as the pain in her skull increased further still, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut in agony. _

_She felt a heavy weight press down on her, the pain in her head reaching an excruciating crescendo, and then with a sensation like her skull was being ripped apart, there was a loud pop and the pain vanished. The man atop her paused in his drunken fumbling as he sensed a change in his captive and peered down at her through blurry eyes. Her eyes suddenly snapped open and the man shoved himself away from her with a startled yell; her eyes had suddenly become an acidic yellow, flickering with a dangerous light. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and cocked her head at him, staring as though he was some kind of curiosity, a little half smile on her face._

_Then she giggled. The man froze, feeling as though ice water had been poured into his veins. That was NOT a child's laugh. She tilted her head the other way, and then she smiled, her eyes glittering insanely._

_"__Playtime, bitches," Kikyo said in a soft, singsong voice._

Zalia shuddered, forcing the memory down; she hated reliving that moment, wishing with all her might that she could just forget it had ever happened.

***I did what I did to protect you,*** Kikyo said softly, although there was a small note of defiance in her tone. ***As I always have, and always will. I will not apologize for that.***

Zalia shook her head. "Nor would I want you to," she replied, massaging her temples slowly. "I know you did what you felt was needful. I'm not upset about any of that. I'm just worried, because I don't think I can stand to lose anyone else at this point."

Kikyo was silent for a while. ***I can't promise something like that,*** she said slowly. ***But I do promise that as long as I'm around, I will do everything I can to protect you and all of our friends.***

* * *

Acton swore as a bolt of energy zipped past his ear, so close that the heat left his skin red. He pulled a fast somersault to his left, then leaped forward, rolling when he hit the ground. He then bounced to his feet and smashed his fist into the snout of the large lizard-like creature that had just tried to shoot him with the energy rifle it held in its clawed hands. The beast staggered back and dropped its weapon, clutching its face as thick, purplish blood spurted from its nostrils. Acton then hopped back a step and pivoted on one foot, his heel connecting with the side of the lizard's head in a spectacular round-house kick which sent the monster flying clear across the clearing where it smashed into a tree and slumped to the ground. Acton paused to catch his breath, glancing around in time to see Cordyle dispatch the last two lizards with expert strokes of the dual swords he wielded.

"You think we got them all?" Natsu asked as he jogged over from where he'd just finished pounding a lizard into the ground.

"I think so, but if not, we'll find out soon enough," he replied, rolling one of them over with his foot and studying it. They were ugly brutes, with mottled green-brown hide, large slit-pupil eyes the size of his fist, and short, blunt snouts filled with viciously sharp teeth. A crest of short spines ran from the top of their heads, down their backs, and all the way to the end of their long, whip-like tails. There had been eighty of them all told, and the three of them had wiped out the lot in just under thirty minutes.

"Sithee, but those big buggers were a damn sight fasta' than they look," cordyle said, his exhaustion causing him to lapse out of his normally careful speech and into the way he'd grown up speaking in the eastern mountains. "Are yew two alright? Yon lizards didna get ye?"

Acton shook his head. "Nothing more than a few bumps and scrapes; we're both fine." After piling the unconscious and injured reptiles in the center of the clearing, it was agreed that Cordyle, who was exhausted, and Natsu, who was hungry, would go back to the guild and give a report on what happened while Acton stayed behind to make sure that none of the lizards had escaped before heading back to the guild.

Because of this, it was several hours before anyone noticed he hadn't returned, several more hours before people began to worry, and late into the night when a large group set out to search for him. By the time they had found him, he was in a very bad way. He was feverish, almost too hot to touch, his breathing shallow and ragged, and there were terrible burns on his hands, arms and face. After healing his external injuries and checking him out, Zalia went to talk to Antory.

"He's got magic poisoning," she explained as she took a sip of the tea he had offered her. Antory noted that while her voice was calm, as was her expression, her hand shook ever so slightly as she picked up the cup. "It's due to his not using magic for three years. The magic energy has built up inside him to dangerous levels and needs to be released."

"What aren't you telling me?" Antory asked softly, causing her to look up sharply, her eyes widening slightly. "You're leaving something out. What is it?"

Zalia bit her lip and looked away, shaking her head. "I…he….it's nothing, he just needs some-"

Don't lie to me!" Antory yelled, slamming his fist down on the table, causing her to jump. "What aren't you telling me?"

It was like a dam breaking. "He's dying!" she blurted out, her eyes overflowing. "The power that's built up inside him is tearing his body apart, and I can't do anything about it! Even if he used his breath attack every second of every day he still wouldn't run out of power for at least four years! It's tearing him apart from the inside and there's nothing I can do to stop it!" She broke down, unable to say anything further.

Antory sat back into his chair heavily, feeling as though he was a thousand years old. "Say nothing for now," he said after a while. "I will speak with Lyla and see if we can find something in the archives that might help."

They spent the next two days locked away in the archives, searching through every single medical text that was in the guild while Acton slept on, placed in a magic induced coma by Zalia. By the end of the second day, it was clear that there wasn't anything they could use there, so it was decided that Lyla would go to the King's Library in Crocus to search for anything that might help them there.

Zalia woke Acton a few days later and explained what was going on to him.

"Magic poisoning, huh?" he said, scratching his head as digested this information. He was propped up in bed with a bunch of pillows behind him. He was still pale and feverish, he ached all over, and he felt exhausted as if he'd just sprinted 10 miles. Kurai sat perched on his shoulder, cuddling up against the side of his head. "And it's because of my not using magic for three years?"

Zalia nodded. "Not just that, I think your head wound had something to do with it too," she said, sitting back in her chair. "I think that in addition to causing your amnesia, it also caused your body to ignore its natural limits and continue collecting and storing magic energy far beyond normal levels."

"That makes sense, actually," Acton said, absently scratching at the scar on his face left by the aforementioned injury. Before he could say more, Lyla came flying into the room, skidding to a stop next to the bed, a thick scroll clutched in her hand.

"I found it!" she said triumphantly. "I found a spell that can save him!"

"Really?!" Zalia exclaimed, shooting to her feet. "Lemme see!" She snatched the scroll from Lyla and scanned it quickly, her eyes flicking from side to side. "It's a Flesh Smith spell, designed to bleed off excess power while at the same time using some of the energy to also heal and reinforce the subject's body. It….hm….this is odd."

"What?" Acton asked, tilting his head curiously, which caused Kurai to complain loudly.

"It says 'only those strong of heart, body, and soul should cast this spell, less they risk losing themselves in the flow," she said, reading it aloud.

"What does that mean?" Acton said, suddenly wary.

"It means the spell uses life energy," Antory said from the doorway, before striding into the room. "It means that the spell draws from the user's life force to fuel it, instead of magic energy. And if it draws too much power, the caster will die."

"Absolutely not!" Acton said, sitting blot upright, his expression hard and his eyes fierce. "I will not allow Zalia to risk her life just to save my skin."

"But Acton-" Zalia started.

But Acton would have none of it. He refused to even speak of it further, and every time Zalia tried to bring it up, he would just stop speaking. The next week passed in the same manner, with Zalia trying to convince him and Acton shutting her out. All the while, Acton's condition continued to get worse and worse. He was dying, and he knew it. Even Kikyo tried to convince him to let them try, although her style ended up with them in huge shouting matches, which also then ended in Acton coughing up large amounts of blood.

Zalia was at her wits end. "Why won't you just let me try?" she cried, tears streaming down her face. "Why won't you let me save you?"

"Because I won't let you risk your life and Kikyo's just to save mine!" Acton said heatedly, before devolving into a fit of coughing.

***Do I seem like the type who needs protecting?*** Kikyo growled, her anger simmering like boiling lava inside Zalia. ***I have had enough of this bullshit!***

BANG!

Zalia was thrown backwards off her stool as everyone was blinded by an immense flash of light. When their sight cleared, there were shouts of alarm. Before them were two Zalia's, one sprawled on the floor looking up at the other, her maroon eyes wide with shock, and the standing one staring at Acton with a thunderous expression on her face, her yellow eyes blazing.

"YOU. ARE. A. STUBBORN. IDIOTIC. ASS!" Kikyo shouted, her body surrounded by a brilliant nimbus of sliver flames, her hair seeming to stand out from her head. "Do you have any idea what your death would do to this guild? Would do to your friends? Would do to Zalia?! It would destroy them all, especially her, the woman that you claim to love! It would shatter her heart, and you damn well know that! So why the fuck are you being so stubborn?!"

Acton recovered faster than anyone else, so used to Kikyo doing surprising things that this new twist didn't even slow him down much. "I do love her and you damn well know that!" he snarled back, rising from his pillows and glaring at her venomously, for a moment back to his old self before he was overcome with a fit of hacking coughs and collapsed back weakly. When the coughing subsided, her glared up at her, his eyes still burning with anger, but his voice much calmer than before. "You know that I love her...more than anything in the world...and would do anything...for her. But I will not...let her risk her life...and yours as well... just to...save mine. What if it worked...but you both died? How could...I live with myself...if that happened?"

"Who ever said anything about both of us having to risk it?" Kikyo said softly, her expression unreadable. There was a long pause as everyone tried to figure out what she meant. Zalia beat them all to it.

"You can't!" she gasped, scrambling to her feet. "You don't have enough life energy by yourself to cast the spell! It would drain you dry and kill you!" Everyone started to speak at once, all clamoring to be heard

"ENOUGH!" Kikyo roared, her voice shaking the rafters, and an instant and surprised silence descended. After a moment she spoke again, her voice much softer. She spoke at the floor, her bangs hiding her face. "All my life I have protected Kikyo. I was created by her own magical power in a moment when she needed me most, and have been her shield and sword ever since. I swore years ago that I would protect her from all pain that was within my power to prevent." Here she raised her head, and they could all see the determination stamped clearly on her features. "And if this is the only way to do that, then so be it. It is a price I am willing to pay, and gladly. She is my little sister. I will do anything, sacrifice ANYTHING, for her sake."

No one spoke, all eyes riveted on the blue and pink haired, yellow eyed girl before them. Zalia sniffed loudly, and Kikyo turned to look at her.

"Y-you can't" she whispered, her eyes bright and overfull with tears she refused to let fall. "D-don't do this, you c-can't leave me! Don't leave me alone again!" This last was shouted, Zalia's voice trembling with suppressed sobs.

Kikyo smiled and laughed softly. Eyes widened all around the room at this, everyone glancing at each other, uncertain as to what was going on. That wasn't her typical crazed smile, and that hadn't been her usual insane giggle. Then jaws dropped as she suddenly stepped forward and hugged Zalia to her tightly. This was so unlike the deranged psychopath that Kikyo usually was that no one knew how to react. She actually looked and sounded for all the world like an older sister comforting a sibling.

"Come on now, lil' sis," she murmured softly. "None of that; you're the emotionally stable one, remember? We can't have you breaking down in front of everyone, now can we?"

Now Zalia did start to cry, her body shaking with silent sobs as the tears streamed down her cheeks. "But you're the only family I have left!" she cried brokenly, clinging to Kikyo even tighter. "I"ll be all alone again!"

"Now, you and I both know that isn't true," Kikyo replied softly, gently wiping away Zalia's tears with her thumb. "You've got a huge family; or have you forgotten that you're a member of Fairy Tail? As long as you are here, you will never, EVER be alone."

"But why do you have to do this?" Zalia whimpered, burying her face in Kikyo's shoulder.

"Because it's my time," Kikyo said quietly. "This is something that I need to do to atone for all the lives that I have taken over the years, without a single shred of remorse.

After a moment of silence, Zalia nodded slowly and stepped back, leaning gratefully against Katya when the older woman wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Besides," Kikyo said in a louder voice now, stepping back over to Acton's bedside. "I'm known as Death Blossom, remember? There is good reason for that. I think it's appropriate that I end my time on this world by saving a life rather than taking one, don't you?"

"Kikyo...don't do this," Acton rasped weakly, and was then overcome by another fit of coughing for a few moments before he recovered enough to speak again. "Has to be...another way."

"We both know there isn't or we would have found it by now," she said quietly, then surprised everyone for a second time when she bent down and kissed his forehead softly. When she spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper so that only he heard her. "Take good care of her for me, alright? If anything happens to her, I'll be back to haunt you."

"You...go right ahead...and try," he whispered back, a crooked smile on his face. She smiled and kissed his forehead again, then stood up and squared her shoulders, her face set.

"Right then," she said softly, almost to herself. "Let's get this show on the road. Time to find out what comes next."

Then she held her hands out over Acton's body and spoke the incantation.

After that, Acton made a swift and complete recovery. He spent two more days in bed before returning to his normal routine. He did make one small change though. On his shoulder, just below his guild symbol, he had a tattoo done of a small skull with a thorny vine issuing from its mouth and wrapping around it and ending in a large rose above the skull.

He showed it to Zalia after he'd had it done. "Whaddaya think?" he asked.

She smiled softly, tracing it with her fingertips. "I like it," she said quietly, kissing him softly. "I think Kikyo would have like it too."

"Right, now we need to get ready," he said. "We need to be ready for this monster when he finally shows his face. This is going to be a long, bloody road."

**Authors note: SO! I am so so so SO sorry that it has taken this long to get this chapter out. because of that, I have tried to make this one a little longer. And what a doozy of a chapter it's been. Now, before all of you go off the rails at me, please let me tell you this was something that I had been planning from the beginning. Trust me though, this isn't the last you've seen of Kikyo. She'll be back, I promise. Alright! Back to reality, unfortunately. XP Right, so for now, live hard, laugh hard, and don't forget to SMILE!**

**Love - Dark**


	11. Chapter 11

Several weeks passed, and Acton once more threw himself into training, working on building up his strength and power, readying himself for the fight looming on the horizon. He and the other members of the guild continued to intercept creatures as they emerged from the Dimensional Rifts that continued to pop up all over Fiore, dispatching whatever monsters came through. The attacks became more and more frequent to the point that there were days where they would send teams on three or four separate hunts in a single day, and then suddenly they stopped. Everyone was wary, wondering what on earth the sudden change could mean, when they unexpectedly got their answer.

Acton and the others were recovering in the guild hall after a particularly nasty raid involving several dozen of the lizard-creatures, now dubbed "scalies" by everyone in the guild, when all hell broke loose. A rift suddenly opened in the center of the guild hall, far larger than any that they had previously seen. Everyone surged to their feet with mingled cries of surprise and fear, then total silence descended as what had to be simply the largest man anyone had ever seen stepped out of the rift, allowing it to close behind him with a loud snap. He was at least twelve feet tall, and half that across the chest. His arms rippled with muscle, and his skin was dark and hard like tanned leather. He wore a burnished silver breastplate, a long black cape trimmed with white fur, and an elaborate flaring helm that had a skull-masked visor which covered his entire face save for his eyes, which were as black as a moonless night. He was armed with a massive hammer that was as tall as he was, yet he carried it in one hand as easily as if it was made of paper.

For several long moments, no one moved. Then the intruder spoke, his voice a deep, cavernous rumble like rocks rolling down a mountain. "Who among you is known by the name Acton Nehan?" he asked slowly, as if he was choosing his words with care.

There was another long pause and then Acton slowly stepped forward. "I am the one you seek. Who are you?"

"I have gone by many names," the stranger replied, again speaking in the same slow manner as before. "But you may call me Mytor, Herald of Storms."

"Very well, what do you want?"

"My master, the great and mighty Lord Sha'Kir sends me with a message and an offer. He, in his great wisdom, has seen fit to offer you leniency, and in return, you will bow down and serve him faithfully as his loyal slaves from now until the end of your days."

"No."

Mytor turned slowly to look at Zalia, who had stood up on the other side of the room. "No?" he repeated.

"No," Zalia said again, as impassively as if she was discussing the weather. "We will not bow down, we will never surrender, and your master can just go jump up his own ass and die."

CRACK!

There was a brilliant flash of light, and people screamed and cried out in alarm and pained surprise, momentarily blinded. When their vision cleared, there were gasps and cries of despair. Zalia was gone, and where she had been standing, there was now a smoking crater.

"You were not addressed, and you insulted my master, and so you shall be punished," he said, then turned back to Acton.

Acton was rooted to the spot, the color draining from his face, hearing Mytor speak as though from the other end of a long tunnel. He stared unblinking at the spot where Zalia had been just moments before, tears streaming down his face.

"No," he whispered. "No no no no nonononononononNONONONONONONONONOOOOOOOOOOO!"

He launched himself at Mytor, attacking with such an insane fury that the giant was driven back swiftly across the length of the hall and back again. People were sent scrambling to get out of their way as they battled back and forth, their power like two opposing forces of nature unleashed. "YOU KILLED HER!" he screamed, his body practically vibrating with uncontained anger. "YOU KILLED ZALIA! YOU KILLED HER! I AM GOING TO **MURDER** YOU!" In an instant, Acton had transformed into Bladewing, his claws and blades whistling through the air viciously every time a slash or cut missed. Mytor, caught completely off guard by the ferocity of the attack, was forced to keep retreating across the guild hall as Bladewing threw himself at him. He then suddenly skipped back and managed to gain some room and swing his hammer, catching Bladewing square in the chest and smashing him back across the hall where he crashed into a pillar and then slummed to ground, before reverting back into Acton, who instantly bounded to his feet.

He skidded to a halt in front of Mytor, his chest heaving, his face such a terrible mask of fury that Mytor actually backed up a pace. Words sprang unbidden to his lips, and when he spoke, his voice was filled with an inhuman rage that caused everyone to tremble in fear.

"FALL DOWN, YOU GLITTERING STARS!" he said, his voice suddenly a thunderous snarl like that of a massive creature. "TEAR ASUNDER, YOU HEAVENS ABOVE! AWAKEN THAT SHINING BEAST WHO WINGS HIS WAY THROUGH THE EMPTY VAULTS OF SPACE! THE ONE WHO OUTLIVES EVEN THE DUST OF STARS! HE WHO HAS SNUFFED OUT THE LIGHT OF A THOUSAND SUNS AND BUNRED A MILLION WORLDS TO ASH! COME FORTH, OH MIGHTY KING OF THE VOID! RISE, YOU WHO FLIES IN THE SLIENCE BETWEEN STARS! MANIFEST NOW, VALLASHAR SUNLORD!"

There was another blinding flash of light, and when it cleared...

"What..." Cordyle gasped, staring in mingled terror and awe.

"Impossible!" Antory muttered, disbelief written on his face.

"No fuckin' way!" yelled Natsu, grinning from ear to ear.

Lucy and Wendy merely clung to each other, wide-eyed and speechless.

Where Acton had stood moments before, and having demolished most of that portion of the guild hall with its manifestation, was a dragon. A real, breathing, gigantic dragon. It was covered from tip to tail in glittering golden-white scales, and its wings had a pearlescent sheen to them. Its head was framed by a frill of spines, and two horns rose from the top of its skull, curving slightly forward. It had a maw filled with a double row of razor sharp teeth, with two immense fangs jutting downwards. Its body was long and serpentine, with four mighty legs, and each paw was tipped with massive claws that glittered dangerously in the light. It drew itself up, then opened its mouth and roared, causing everyone to clap their hands over their ears, the sound nearly deafening them. Then an absolute silence fell, the dragon and the Herald facing each other down. Even as big as he was, he was tiny compared to the mighty beast before him.

Then the dragon spoke, his voice like the growl and rumble of thunder. "Only the greatest of righteous angers can rouse me from my slumber and allow me to manifest," he said, he thunderous voice causing the very air to vibrate. "So then, what did you do to piss my dragon slayer counterpart off so badly, hmm?" He lowered his massive head and tilted it, inspecting Mytor with one golden eye the size of a large platter.

"I killed a worthless girl whom the slayer was seemingly sweet on," Mytor replied unconcernedly, gesturing over his shoulder at the aforementioned spot.

WHAM!

Mytor sailed across the guild hall and crashed into the wall, smashing through it and out the other side. Vallashar had hit him so fast that no one even saw him move. "No life is worthless," he rumbled, a dangerous growl in his voice. "That you would believe otherwise shows just how stupid and simple minded you truly are." Mytor staggered out of the hole in the wall and looked up at the great dragon before him, fear showing in the eyes behind the skull mask. He then lunged forward and smashed Vallashar's head to one side with a massive swipe of his hammer, causing the dragon to stagger sideways and crash into the wall.

"Not so tough now, are you, beast?" he snarled. He stalked forwards, but then was forced to dodge backwards when Vallashar took another mighty swipe at him. Then he crashed to the floor as his legs were swept out from under him by the dragon's tail. He scrambled to his feet, and was once again smashed backwards into the wall by another blow from one of Vallashar's massive paws. This time when staggered to his feet, there were huge tears in the shining metal of his breastplate, blood pouring from the large gashes Vallashar's claws had made.

The fight raged back and forth across the guild hall, people scrambling to get out of the way as the two titanic figures battled it out. Mytor would get in a strike or two, and then the dragon would smash him back again, inflicting injuries each time. despite this, they were fairly evenly matched. Mytor, though smaller, was tremendously strong, and astonishingly fast for a being his size. However, Vallashar seemed to have nearly limitless endurance, and after a while, the Herald started to flag, and his exertions, plus the continuous loss of blood, began catching up with him and sapping his stamina and strength. Finally, after an especially ferocious series of blows back and forth, they broke away from each other and paused; Vallashar, seemingly cool and unfazed, and Mytor, panting raggedly and bleeding from a dozen wounds.

"Had enough?" Mytor spat, wiping blood off his face with the back of one wrist.

"Not hardly," Vallashar rumbled. "Besides, it seems to me that you're the one who needs the break."

"I will fight until my dying breath!" Mytor yelled, his voice echoing in the silent guild hall. "So what now, beast?"

The dragon shrugged his immense shoulders. "Now you die, monster." Vallashar then opened his jaws and, with a sound akin to the death scream of a sun, unleashed a beam of dazzling golden energy. After a moment, he closed them with a _snap_, and where Mytor had been there was nothing but scorched earth and blackened stone.

There was silence for several moments, and then Vallashar turned and looked around at everyone. "So," he said, his voice echoing in the room. "What happened that set my dragon slayer off?"

After a moment, Natsu stepped forward. "The….Herald killed the woman he loved."

"No, he didn't."

There was utter and shocked silence. Then everyone started shouting at once, all trying to be heard, before Vallashar roared again, and silence descended once more.

"See, this is why I spend so much time flying around by myself," he said, closing his eyes and scratching a scale in between them. "Now all of you be silent and watch." He bent forward, stretching his neck out until his nose was just inches from the spot where Zalia had been. He then opened his mouth and breathed out, a soft golden glow issuing forth. It seemed to coalesce in midair, then expanded until it had made a large sphere hovering about an inch above the floor. The dragon sat back on his haunches and curled his tail around his paws, looking supremely pleased with himself.

"There, you see?" he said, nodding at the glowing sphere. "That, my friends, is a temporal rift. It is a small pocket of space-time that has been pushed out of phase with everything else. And, with a small nudge…" He opened his mouth again and fired a tiny beam of energy, which struck the sphere. It flared blindingly for a moment, then vanished with a loud _pop_! And laying on the floor, apparently asleep, was Zalia.

Wendy, Lucy, and Katya all rushed forwards to check on her, and Antory turned to stare at Vallashar with awe and wonder written across his features. "How could you possibly-?" he began, but Vallashar cut him off with an upraised paw.

"Ah ah, star dragon, remember?" he said, his eyes glittering with mirth. "Besides, if my human conduit is part of this guild, then that makes it my responsibility to help in any way I can. Now, tell me about that warrior I just obliterated."

In short order, Antory had brought Vallashar up to speed. The whole time, the dragon said nothing, just listened, until Antory had finished, then sat for a few moments in silence, a contemplative look on his face. "So then, he has returned," he said, then at Antory's blank look, explained further. "Sha'kir. I have tangled with this beast once before, long, long ago. I was young and stupid, and full of myself. He is older than even I, cunning too. He nearly bested me then. I was supremely lucky to have escaped with my life; this time, I will be ready and not make the mistake of underestimating him a second time."

"I see," Antory said. "So tell me, how exactly-"

"Did Acton summon me here?" the dragon finished, arching a scaly eyebrow, then laughed at the expression on Antory's face, a sound like tectonic plates grinding together. "I suppose a few explanations would not be amiss. But where to begin? Hmmm let me see..."

He paused, staring off into the distance for a few moments before nodding as if to himself. "Right, well, we might as well start at the beginning. If you must know, the simplest explanation was pure fancy. You humans are a most interesting race. Your motives, your inspirations, the things that drive you, they fascinate me. You humans, you're such a passionate breed. Your emotions guide you. I observed you world for many, many years. Centuries, in your estimation of time. I found that you had beings similar to myself, although smaller and far less powerful. Then one day, I decided to meet one of you humans. I found you so incredibly complex that I made a bargain with that human. I would teach that human how to use my form of magic, and in return, they would allow me to use their soul and the souls of their decedents as a link to this world."

"Use their souls?" Antory said, frowning.

"No, not in that way," Vallashar said, clearly searching for a way to explain himself. "I don't really use their souls. It's more like...like a door. Their souls act as a door to this world, allowing me to pass through them and manifest within this plane of reality."

"You mean you're not from this universe?" Natsu asked, looking up from the plate of food he was demolishing.

"Yes and no," Vallashar said, laying down, rubble crunching and breaking under his immense bulk. "I am...hm, how do I explain this...I'm in a universe that is separate from this one, but still touching it. Because of that, I can see into this world, and in a limited capacity, interact with it. I am not, however, a part of it. The only way for me to enter this world is to pass through a gateway of some kind, and the easiest way to establish gateways like that is to use a soul as the anchor point."

"So then what happens to Acton while you're here?" Natsu asked, leaning back in his seat and stacking his hands behind his head.

"He is within me," Vallashar said, then explained more at Natsu's obvious confusion. "All of the magic energy in his body is used as the catalyst for the manifestation. Some of it is converted into an extremely dense crystalline structure that then surrounds his body. This acts as the focal point for the manifestation, allowing my body building itself outward from that crystal, using the rest of his magic power to fuel the transformation." He tapped his chest with a single talon. "If you were to cut me open, you would find Acton in the center of my body, just behind my heart, encased within a large gold colored crystal."

"Zalia is going to be fine, master," Katya said, coming over and sitting down on the bench next to Natsu. "She's a little worse for wear, but she'll be right as rain in a day or two. And I have a question, lord dragon, if I may."

Vallashar bared the tips of his fangs in a dragon's smile and chuckled. "I am no one's lord, little human. Please, ask away."

"What about all the other form that Acton is able to use?" she asked, brushing a lock of hair behind one ear. "He has previously demonstrated the ability to transform into a creature called 'Bladewing'. Is that you as well?"

"Ah, yes," Vallashar said, nodding. "I'd almost forgotten about them. Yes, Bladewing is indeed me. Or rather, he is a form of me."

"What do you mean, 'a form of you'?" she asked, titling her head curiously.

"Bladewing is...I guess you could say he is an alter ego," he said, lowering his massive head head onto his paws. "Over the ages, I have had many different forms that I have used to explore different universes, different dimensions, all of them with their own unique powers and abilities. I would leave my body within the dimensional gap that I exist in, and inhabit a body that I had created to explore that particular universe. When I had finished exploring, I would absorb that creature back into myself, and this was passed on to the human I later forged the bargain with, quite unintentionally. I actually didn't know that they would be able to transform into those beings."

"So there are more of them?" Natsu asked.

"Indeed. Many, in fact, however, I doubt that Acton will be able to use them all. Some are so old and faded that I doubt it would even be possible for me to create and inhabit them again," he said, looking thoughtful. "If I had to guess though, I would say that most likely, in addition to Bladewing, he will be able to use Zephyrian, Gallaross, Paquita, Miraless, Taradon, Amadeus, and Leviathan. There may be a few others, but of those seven I am sure."

"That's really cool!" Natsu said, munching now on some fire he had scooped up off the floor.

Vallashar chuckled and shook his head in amusement. "See, this is why I like humans so much. You're all so different, every single one of you unique in some way or another," he said, getting up and then stretching like a cat, first his front legs and then his back ones. "Well, I believe I've spent enough time here. I think I should get back to my world now and let you have your friend back. Now, before I go, take this." He turned his head and, using his teeth, peeled a single scale off of his shoulder, then dropped it into Antory's outstretched hands. It was surprisingly light, warm to the touch, and it vibrated gently, as if humming with all of the power contained within it.

"You can use that to speak with me when I am not here," Vallashar explained. "You merely have to hold it in your hands and speak my name. Now then, time to get going. I can assure you that this will not be the last you see of me. Oh, and Zalia?"

Zalia, who had just come back into the room, looked up in surprise. "Ye-es?" she said, uncertainly.

"I have a message for you," he said, his body beginning to glow brightly. "I was told to tell you 'don't get bored, and not to let that boy out of your sight'."

"Who told you that?" she asked, taking a step forward.

"They wouldn't say directly," replied Vallashar, his voice echoing oddly, now nothing more than a huge glowing mass in the center of the guild hall. "But they said to tell you one other thing."

"And what was that?"

"They said to 'watch for the blossom'."

There was a final silent flash, and when their eyes cleared, Acton was laying sprawled on his back. He got up slowly, rubbing his head, then looked around for a moment before his gaze fell on Zalia. He eyes widened, his mouth dropped open, and then he lunged to his feet and sprinted across the guild hall before practically tackling her and wrapping his arms around her tightly, tears streaming silently down his face.

"I thought I'd lost you," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "I thought you were gone, that you were dead, that I would never get to see you again!"

She hugged him back just as fiercely, stroking his hair and rocking him slowly back and forth, comforting him as best she could, unable to speak due to relief that Acton was okay.

"Okay," Natsu said suddenly, and everyone looked around at him. "I'll say this. At first I wasn't sure about this whole interdimensional monster thing. But now? Oooooh now I'm all fired up! Cuz he made a big mistake by sending that Herald jackass!"

There was some scattered cheering and he went on, leaping up onto a table so that everyone could hear him better. "He made a mistake when he pissed off the strongest guild in Fiore! He made a mistake when he attacked us in our own house!" More cheering, louder this time. "He screwed up when he sent one of his flunkies to force us into slavery! When his minions hurt our friends, our family! He thinks he's so powerful, so great! Thinks he has the measure of our strength! Well, he ain't seen nothin' yet!" Everyone in the guild was yelling and cheering now, all on their feet. "He has no idea the shitstorm he's stirred up against him! No idea what he's getting himself in for! He wanted a war? Well he's got one now! He thought Zeref was tough? Zeref's got nothin' on us! WE ARE A FAMILY! WE CAN'T BE BEATEN! WE ARE FAIRY TAIL!"

The cheer was so loud that if the roof had still been attached it would have been blown clean off by the sheer force of it. He got down off the table and Lucy came over and kissed him on the cheek.

"What was that for?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist and grinning at her.

"Oh, you know," she said, hugging him. "Just for being you."

The rebuilding took several days, and in the meantime, Acton and Zalia spent every moment together, recovering from their injuries and rebuilding their strength. All the while, they poured and pondered over what Vallashar had said. "Watch for the blossom". Neither of them had the slightest clue what it meant.

After several days of pondering and considering it and making no headway whatsoever, Acton finally gave up, saying "There's no point in beating our brains out over something that will probably explain itself in due course. Let's forget about it for now, and focus on getting ready for this fight." After that, they focused on training and spending their time together, because they knew that soon, time like this would become all too rare.

**Author's Note: So then! I made a promise, and this time I managed to deliver! XD I managed to get this chapter out a bit faster than the last one. Now then, I hope you guys liked it! I also hope I answered a few questions you might have had about Acton. This is my way of making up for stabbing you in the feels with the last chapter, by giving you a nice little bit of Acton being a total badass, and one of Natsu's awesome motivational speeches. XD Trust me, it's only going to get better from here! **

**Now then! On to music. I had a bit of a soundtrack that I was working with while writing this chapter. I think that these songs fit in well with the tone of the chapter, because they sum up the scenes for which they were playing in my head. Agree or disagree, let me know what you think, I'm always in the mood for feedback! **

**1\. Mytor emerging from the rift: "Hypnotica", Two Steps from Hell**

**2\. Acton transforms into Vallashar: "Moving Mountains", Two Steps from Hell**

**3\. Natsu's speech: "Atlantis", Two Steps from Hell**

**That was really all I had, but I thought that these songs summed up those particular parts of the chapter nicely. If you have any that you think fit better, or have some for other parts of this chapter, please, let me know! As I said, I'm always open to input! But anyway, I need to get to bed, got WAY too much to do tomorrow, but I hope you guys liked this chapter, and I promise I won't keep you waiting too long for the next. So for now, goodbye, live hard, laugh hard, and never forget to SMILE!**

**Love-Dark**


	12. Chapter 12

"I've got a new one."

"Hm?" Zalia said distractedly, looking up from the scroll she was reading.

"I said, I've got a new one," Acton repeated, leaning against the doorframe and folding his arms. "Honorius; big brute, about twelve feet tall, four arms, dropped a hill on a big batch of scalies. And I do mean quite literally a hill. You know that rocky outcrop north of the city? Well, it's now about 30 yards west of where it used to be."

Zalia chuckled. "You really need to stop rearranging the landscape, you know that? It's probably bad for the environment or something."

Acton flopped down in the chair across from her. "Meh, it's no biggie. I can always move it back if someone complains," he said, stretching with much popping and snapping of joints. He winced. "Ugh, I'm always stiff and sore after I use one of the Spectral Shift forms."

"Probably a side effect of the transformation; here," she said, and pointed at him. There was a momentary glow that settled around his body for a moment before vanishing. "Better?"

Acton stretched again and then leaned back with a nod. "Aaah, much, thanks," he said, stacking his hands behind his head.

"When do you think it's really going to start?" Zalia asked suddenly, but Acton knew what she meant.

"I dunno," he said, staring at the ceiling. "It feels like these raids keep getting more intense, but that's still all they are, raids. The enemies that make up each raiding group keep getting tougher, but they aren't big enough to be considered invasions, even small ones."

"It feels like we're missing something," she said, propping her hand on her chin and looking thoughtful. "Like there's some piece of the puzzle that we haven't seen or noticed yet."

"I know what you mean," he said, getting up and getting something to drink. "There's something we're not seeing, some angle that we haven't figured yet."

The door opened and Natsu strolled in with Happy flying along behind him. "Hey guys!" he said in his typical cheerful manner. "We just got another alert on the system, wanna come along and pound some baddies?"

Acton grinned and smacked fists with Natsu. "You know I'm always down for a fight," he said, and turned to Zalia and raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

She grinned and gave a mock sigh, getting up from her seat. "Might as well, someone needs to be there to fix you two up when you get what little brains you have rattled inside those thick skulls of yours."

Natsu and Acton both laughed, and after collecting the others, they all headed out to the site of the alert. When they got there, though, there seemed to be no sign of anyone there. They searched high and low, but they couldn't find anyone. They met back up in the center of the town once they had all completed searching the various areas.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone here," said Lucy, fingering her keys nervously. "Do you think maybe the alert was a dud?"

"I dunno," Acton said, looking around slowly, his nose twitching. "Something seems off to me."

"I know what you mean," Natsu said, sniffing the air. "There's a scent that I can't quite place."

Acton suddenly turned around and, raising his voice, called out, "We know you're out there, so why don't you show yourself? There's no point in trying to hide from us."

For a long moment nothing seemed to happen, then the air off to their left seemed to ripple and a person stepped out of it. He was middling height, but with broad shoulders, and obviously well built under the huge suit of armor he wore. The armor was alabaster white with gold edging, the look being rather striking. When he removed the helmet, he had long pointed ears, slanted almond shaped eyes that were a bright forest green, and short, spiky white hair.

"How did you even know I was there?" the stranger asked, his voice deep and speaking with a lilting, almost musical accent. His tone was merely curious, not angry or challenging. "My mirror field is impossible to detect or see."

Acton tapped the side of his nose. "We could smell you," he said, grinning, instantly knowing that the stranger was a friend. "We're Dragonslayers, so our senses are a lot sharper than just about everyone else's." Introductions were swiftly made all around. The strangers name was Tobrax, an interdimensional warrior of tremendous power. He was armed with numerous weapons and gadgets, and was also accompanied by an artificial intelligence named Talon, which was built into all of his tech. His story was simple, and sad; Sha'kir and his forces had invaded Tobrax's home dimension and attacked his people. His people had put up a tremendous fight, and it had taken almost 600 years for them to finally fall, but fall they did. However, in that time, they discovered the secrets of dimensional travel, and at the end, a fair number of his people, Tobrax included, had fled into other dimensions, become rebels, striking at targets of opportunity. That had been decades ago, and they had never stopped fighting, although he hadn't heard from any of the others in years.

"That's not really all that unusual, though," he said with a shrug. "We tend to split up like that. Makes us harder to take out, and it also means that they can rarely get more than one of us at a time. We only ever come together to hit really big targets."

"That makes sense," said Cordyle, nodding. "Typical partisan tactics; that way even if one of you is captured and tortured, it wouldn't lead to the capture or deaths of anyone else, because you don't actually know where anyone else is."

"Excuse me, sir," Talon suddenly interrupted. "But you might want to have a look at the signal that I just detected." Tobrax held up his armored hand and a holographic display materialized in his palm. He studied it for a few moments before his eyes went wide in shock.

"What?" he breathed in disbelief. "Malach? But I thought he died four years ago!"

"As did I, but evidently not, because that is most definitely his emergency code," said Talon. Tobrax grabbed his helmet and put it on, turning to go.

"I'm sorry, but I need to deal with this," he said. "It's probably a trap, but I can't take the chance that it isn't."

Natsu grabbed his wrist to stop him. "Of course it's a trap," he said, grinning from ear to ear. "But we wouldn't be able to call ourselves members of Fairy Tail if we didn't come with you and back you up once the trap is sprung. What else are friends for? Lead the way!"

Tobrax stared at them for a long moment, reading the expressions of determination they each had, his face inscrutable under his helmet with its mirrored visor, then he nodded, and they could hear the gratitude in his voice when he spoke. "Alright, then follow me! The signal isn't far away."

They dashed off, following behind him, and they eventually reached a huge clearing in the forest outside the town. They burst through the underbrush and skidded to a halt, seeing as there was someone standing in the middle of the clearing. The figure turned, revealing itself to be Marco Reymius, the MAnticore Fang guild master, who looked shocked at the presence of Tobrax.

"You!?" he shouted in surprise.

"YOU!" roared Tobrax, drawing a massive double bladed battleaxe from its sheath across his shoulders. He thumbed a stud on the haft, and the blades crackled to life with arcs of blue white energy which hissed and snapped viciously as he swung it at Marco, who just narrowly dodged the attack. "You bastard! Come to ruin another world like you did mine? Well not this time, you monster!"

"Whoa, Tobrax, what the hell?" yelled Acton, leaping forward to try and separate the two. "He may be a piece of crap, but he's on our side!"

"No he isn't!" Tobrax snarled, attacking Marco again. "He's one of Sha'kir's Heralds! He led the invasion of my home dimension!"

Marco suddenly made a sweeping gesture with his hands and a wave of pure black power rippled from him and smashed Acton and Tobrax backwards and off their feet. He started to laugh, a cruel, evil chuckle with absolutely no mirth in it.

"Well, I'll admit that seeing Tobrax was unexpected, but this is a most pleasant surprise!" he cackled, sounding utterly insane. "Now you get to see what I'm going to use all this power I stole from you when you blacked out way back when for." He held up a lacrima that shown with brilliant golden power.

"You took that when I collapsed in the forest from magic poisoning?" Acton said, getting back to his feet.

"Yep," he said, doing a crazy little dance of delight. "And now I'm going to use it…for this!" Before anyone could stop him, he tossed the glowing sphere up into the air, and it suddenly shattered, creating dozens of beams of rainbow hued power, which then coalesced into a single immense dimensional rift. "Now that I've used your power to open the gate, Sha'kir and his armies can come through and conquer this world, just as they have so many times before!"

"Wait a second," said Acton, holding up his hands. "So what you're saying is, you stole my power without my knowledge, used it to open a giant rift for Sha'kir to invade through, and you've been working for him all along?"

"Isn't that what I just said?" Marco said with an ugly sneer.

"Yes, it is," Acton replied, closing his eyes so he could focus. "I just wanted to be absolutely sure before I got REALLY pissed."

"Oh, really now?" Marco said with a nasty laugh. "And just what do you think you're gonna do about it, punk?"

"Spectral Shift!"

"Spectral what?"

WHAM!

Marco was knocked head over heels and clear across the entire clearing before he smashed into a large rock outcrop.

"Bitch," rumbled Honorius, straightening up.

Before anyone could move, figures began to emerge from the portal. They were easily eight feet tall, with four long, spindly arms, and long thin fingers as well. They were various shades of red, and each one was slightly different from the one next to it in pattern and color. They moved with an odd, jerky gait, and their movements were swift and almost bird like. They all had six green facet eyes, although the placement was seemingly random and totally unique to each one. They were armed with a vast assortment of weapons, from guns to blades. Tobrax growled deep in his throat, and then he said a single word, his voice filled with pure hatred.

"Mallaketh."

The forest suddenly erupted behind them with yells and shouts as the rest of guild seemed to materialize out of the trees. Acton, now back to his normal body, ran over to Antory, who was carrying his massive warhammer.

"Master!" he said with relief, skidding to a halt next to him. "Why are you all here?"

"The system detected a massive rift here, so I figured it was pretty likely that something big was coming through. Seems I was right. Well? What are we waiting for? CHAAAAARRRRGE!"

With a roar, everyone surged forward and clashed with a Mallaketh still advancing from the rift. The battle devolved into a tremendous melee, but it seemed like Fairy Tail was winning. Then things started to go wrong as more and more of the invaders continued to march through the massive rift. It seemed that for every one that fell, there were another ten to take its place. They were all starting to run out of power, and yet there seemed to be no end to them. The weight of numbers was starting to tell, and the guild members started to get pushed back, slowly but surely, even though some of them, like the three Dragonslayers, Lucy, Zalia, and Cordyle all cut massive numbers of the enemy soldiers down.

Finally they reached a point where they were in danger of being totally routed when Antory made a decision.

"Fall back!" he yelled, flattening several Mallaketh with huge swipes of his hammer. "There are too many of them!"

"Star Dragon Roar!" Acton blew a swath through the ranks of foes, but more of them swiftly filled the gap. "Crap, this isn't working!"

"Harmonic Strike!"

SSSHHHWAAAAK!

"Harmonic Strike!"

Another shockwave, cutting another swath through the groups of Mallaketh like a knife.

"Discord Bomb!"

A sphere of energy flew over their heads and detonated among the enemies, the tremendous force sending bodies sailing through the air.

"Rising pitch!"

Columns of energy and sound burst upwards, blasting yet more enemies into the air and scattering the remainder further still.

Acton pushed himself to his feet from where he'd landed after being knocked over by one of the shockwaves, stunned by how swiftly the fight had turned around. He turned slowly and stared at the person who had just saved them. The hair...the hair was different, waist length, and black with brilliant streaks of red in it, but there was no mistaking those acid yellow slit pupiled eyes.

"Kikyo?" Acton whispered in total disbelief.

"Hey there," Kikyo said with a giggle and a wink. "Ya miss me?"

"How?" Zalia said, staring in wide eyed wonder.

"No idea," she said cheerfully. "But now isn't the time. We'll talk when we get back to the guild hall." Her demeanor changed suddenly as she shifted into a fighting crouch, and grinned her signature crazy smile. "Right now, I've got some new toys to play with. Kikyo's back, bitches! Now come to mamma! You've all been bad boys and need to be spanked!"

**Authors note: **

**RIGHT! SSSSSOOOOOOOO! That took a LOT longer than it should have, and for that, I am so so so so so so SO very sorry! Unfortunately, I had a really poorly timed combination of mild writers block and a whole crap ton of real life stuff to deal with. Even so, I feel bad that it took me so long to get this to you, and that it's so short compared to some of the other chapters. I won't lie and promise that I will bring the next one faster, because I still have a whole bunch of stuff going on with family and whatnot, but I will try to do my best. **

**Anywhoodles! On with the story! Now, see? I told you guys that we weren't done with Kikyo yet! You just can't keep a good psycho down! As for how she came back, I may or may not explain that, I dunno. If I come up with a plausible explanation, I might use it, or I might just let it be and leave it up to your imagination. I haven't decided yet. Either way, HOW she came back isn't going to be that much of a thing. What will be is all the crazy sheeite that she's gonna do now that she IS back. Just you wait and see! ;) **

**Alright, I gotta run for now, but I promise you guys that I will do my absolute bestest to get the next chapter out just as soon as I can. So for now, remember, live hard, laugh loud, and don't forget to SMILE!**

**Love - Dark**


	13. Chapter 13

As Kikyo threw herself onto the surprised Mallaketh, Acton swiftly sought out Antory in the chaos.

"We'll help her and hold them off while you get the rest of the guild out of here," he said, raising his voice to be heard over the roar of the melee. "Once everyone is clear, we'll meet you back at the guild."

Antory nodded and turned, his voice a tremendous bellow like a thunderclap. "ALRIGHT, LISTEN UP! EVERYONE HEAD BACK TO THE GUILD! LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER AND MAKE SURE NOBODY GETS LEFT BEHIND! LET'S MOVE IT, PEOPLE, WE AIN'T GOT ALL DAY!"

The three Dragonslayers, along with Zalia, Lucy, Katya, Cordyle, and Tobrax, all turned and threw themselves back into the fray in support of Kikyo. Zalia fought her way to her sister's side, Mallaketh dropping left and right as she brushed them with her fingertips and their hearts stopped. She put her back against Kikyo's, and the two of them carved a swath of destruction through the enemy forces.

As she fought, Zalia felt something stirring inside her, like a bright ember at the center of her soul, getting stronger and brighter with each passing moment. Kikyo, sensing the change, grinned to herself.

"That's it, lil' sis, let it out," she muttered softly. "It's time you embraced the true power of the Flesh Smith."

Suddenly, Zalia laughed, a soft, high pitched giggle that caused the Mallaketh in front of her to hesitate with uncertainty, and Kikyo's grin to get even wider. When she looked up, her eyes glittered with a light that wasn't even remotely sane. She laughed again and pointed at one of the Mallaketh, which exploded in a fountain of gore. She twirled, neatly avoiding the spray, and poked another one in the face, causing its head to pop like a blister.

"Time to die!" she giggled. She held out a hand, fingers splayed. "Dissect!" Beams of light shot from her fingertips and struck five separate enemies. They froze for a moment, seemingly unaffected, then shuddered and literally fell apart. First their skin was flayed from them, showing glistening muscle and sinew, then this was stripped away, exposing their skeletons, still articulated, then these too fell apart before scattering into dust. She giggled insanely again, and turned to do it again with both hands, annihilating another ten foes.

"Well, well, look at you, just like your big sis," Kikyo said in a conversational voice. "So, how are you and Acton doing?"

"We're doing well," Zalia replied in the same tone. "He never ceases to amaze me. He's so tough, and dependable."

"Well, why don't we give him a little show, hm?" she said, her tone turning wicked.

"What did you have in mind?"

"A Unison Raid; let's combine our power and see what happens."

Zalia's feral grin matched her sisters. "Let's do it!"

They turned and clasped hands, interlacing their fingers. They closed their eyes and focused, their breathing, thoughts, and even heartbeats slowing down and syncing with each other. A nimbus of pinkish energy settled around them. They opened their eyes and spoke as one, their voices echoing above the din of battle.

"UNISON SPECIAL ATTACK: DEATH SONG OF THE MAD PHYSICIAN!"

There was a sound like a thousand voices singing together in a single deep resonating note, and a huge sphere of energy formed above the two women. There was a massive spike in the sound, like a single voice singing a high, clear note, and a beam lanced out from the sphere and struck one of the Mallaketh in the chest and passing through it, along with the next dozen immediately behind it. They all collapsed to the ground, lifeless. Again and again, the beams lashed out, and hundreds of Mallaketh were killed in the space of five minutes. When they finally released the magic, and total silence descended on the battlefield. The bodies of fallen Mallaketh littered the ground; those that remained were grouped by the rift, clearly ready to fight, but not advancing.

Cordyle, who had been standing next to Acton, watching this, broke the silence by muttering softly to the young wizard. "You know, I'm starting to wonder if Kikyo was actually the crazy one, or if Zalia somehow rubbed off on her."

"I'm starting to wonder the same thing," Acton muttered back, then raised his voice. "Come on, they seem to have had enough for the moment. Let's move before they change their minds!"

Back at the guild hall, swift action had replaced the previous sense of boredom. People were running here and there, tending to the injured, stockpiling supplies, and making preparations while Antory, along with the heads of Blue Pegasus, Sabertooth, Mermaid Heel, and Lamina Scale were all closeted in a room on the second floor in a council of war. For a little while, Acton, Zalia and the others stayed out of the way and watched the preparations, but after a little while Kikyo spoke up.

"This is ridiculous, everyone is acting like it's all over just because we didn't stop them from coming through the gate," she said, and she was right. There was a feeling of defeat over the entire situation, the expressions on everyone's faces showing how hopeless they clearly felt the situation was.

"You're right, but what can we do about it?" Katya asked, looking at her.

"Easy," she said with a grin. "We cheer everyone up and go dancing." With that, she leapt up onto the stage at the far end of the guild hall. With a sweep of each arm, several multicolored spheres appeared in the air around her. She began to make gestures with her arms and hands, and the spheres vibrated in response, creating music. Acton, instantly recognizing one of the songs of his home land, grabbed Zalia's wrist and dragged her into the center of the guild hall and pulled her into a dance. She threw back her head and laughed happily, matching him step for step, to the amazement and cheers of the others around them, who swiftly made a space for them to dance in. Around and around they spun, moving with the beat, all the while staring into each other's eyes, oblivious to the world around them.

The song finished to tumultuous applause, and Kikyo launched into another one, this one much faster. This time, Katya and Cordyle joined them, and the two pairs spun off once again, loosing themselves in the music. They danced several more times before they were finally worn out and retired back to their rooms. Acton slumped in one of the armchairs to catch his breath, and before he knew it, he was sound asleep.

He was dreaming, of that much he was certain. He opened his eyes and found himself standing in a grey mist, the ground seeming to stretch away from him into infinity. Out of the mist, Vallashar strode forth, his scales glittering like miniature suns, and then he lay down in front of Acton, curling into a ball, his head resting on his tail, studying the Dragonslayer with a single golden eye.

"So," he said after a long moment. "The time has come at last."

"Indeed," Acton replied, sitting on the ground and folding his legs easily. He was used to these dreams by now. He knew that they were, in fact, not dreams, but a way for him and Vallashar to communicate. It was through this method that the mighty Star Dragon had lately been teaching Acton how to use his power. "But now that Sha'kir and his armies are here, I'm not sure what there is we can do about it."

"What do you mean?" the dragon asked in his rumbling voice.

"He's just so powerful! Or at least his armies are," Acton said with a sigh. "We barely managed to get away from them, and that was only through the intervention of Kikyo which caught them off guard. The truth is, Val, I'm not sure if I'm powerful enough to stop him. I'm not sure if the entire alliance of guilds is."

"You're right, you're not," said the dragon. "Sha'kir has become far more powerful over the ages since I last fought with him. I'm not even sure that I could defeat him now."

"Then we're pretty much screwed," said Acton dismally.

But Vallashar merely shook his head. "Do not give up hope just yet, for I have a plan in mind that may yet save us" he said. "Now, centuries ago, one of my Dragonslayers crafted an artifact called Sutā no Hanketsu, or Ruling Star. It is a suit of armor, along with a sword called Starfang, and a shield named Miratzec, which means 'defender' in the tongue of the star dragons. These artifacts were specifically made for Star Dragonslayers; they amplify the wielder's power a thousand fold and greatly enhance his or her physical attributes."

"And let me guess, you want me to go find it?" Acton said with a wry smile.

The dragon grinned, showing off his fangs and nodded. "Precisely; it may be the only chance that we have of defeating Sha'kir and his hordes. Now, to protect the armor and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands, the maker scattered it across the countries. Without all of the pieces, the suit is useless and will not work, so you will need to find them all."

"I knew there was a catch," muttered Acton, causing Vallashar to chuckle.

"Fear not, little dragon," he said, using the nickname he often called Acton by. "For I know the location of the first piece, the sword Starfang, and with each piece will be the location of the next one, written in the star dragon script which you can instinctively understand."

"Well, alright then, what are we doing wasting time here?" Acton said, getting up and dusting his knees off. "Time for me to wake up and go tell the others about the situation then."

Once he had woken up, he quickly gathered the others and headed into the room where the guild masters were still having their meeting and explained everything that Vallashar had told him. Once he was finished, Cordyle stepped forward.

"I think the path before us is obvious," he said, clasping his hands behind his back. "Acton and a small team should go to search for this armor while the rest of the guild stays here to wage war on Sha'kir and his forces. I suggest myself, Zalia, Katya, and Kikyo all come with Acton."

"I would like to go as well," said Tobrax, stepping forward. Cordyle nodded in agreement.

Natsu stood up. "I think I'll stay here, so that the guilds aren't without a Dragonslayer," he said. "Wendy, you should stay too so that we have a healer."

"Right, then it's decided," said Antory once everyone was in agreement. "Acton, you and your team will leave first thing tomorrow, everyone else, back to your guilds. We have a lot of work to do, and a long fight ahead of us."

Several days later saw the small band entering the foothills of the mountains of the east. Following Vallashar's instructions, they made their way into a deep valley that cut its way between two peaks. At the far end was a large building that had been cut out of the stone in the valley wall. They entered carefully, looking all around at the detailed carvings on the wall.

"What is this place?" Kikyo wondered aloud.

"_Snaem siht tahw em llet_," Katyo whispered, invoking her magic and touching the stone. The carvings glowed for a moment before fading and she turned to the others. "It's a tomb of a warrior who died a very long time ago. These carvings are a record of his life, all the battles he won and lost, things like that."

"So where is the sword, Acton?" Tobrax asked, turning to the Dragonslayer.

"According to Vallashar, it should be in the main chamber with the sarcophagus," he replied, starting forwards. He hadn't gone more than a few steps when Tobrax suddenly dived forward and tackled him from behind as several arrows whistled through the spot where Acton's head had been moments before. They climbed to their feet and Acton shook Tobrax's hand. "Thanks. So, add that to the list of things to watch out for; place has traps."

The next several hours saw them making their way deeper into the tomb, dodging traps and fighting various monsters that had made the tomb their home including some very nasty giant spiders that were a lot tougher than they had first thought. They finally reached the central chamber and all sat down for a few moments to regain their breath before looking around. The burial room was a huge, vault ceilinged space, with intricately carved arches, and dozens of small rooms off the main one filled with burial goods. The massive stone sarcophagi sat on a raised plinth in the center of the room, oddly plain and utilitarian compared to the splendor and lavishness of the rest of the tomb.

Acton approached the plinth carefully, wary of traps, but nothing seemed to happen. He stepped up slowly onto the plinth and laid his hand on the heavy stone lid. The air above it suddenly rippled, and he leapt back, ready for anything. The rippling eventually resolved itself into the ghostly image of a powerful looking warrior in spiked, flaring armor that was decorated with skull motifs and intricate scrollwork along the edges.

Acton, sensing that this was the person who was buried here, bowed deeply to the figure floating in the air. "Forgive the intrusion, honored warrior, we would not disturb your rest unless it was absolutely needful, as it is now," he said, the words springing into his mind unbidden.

"For what reason have you come here?" the ghostly warrior asked, his voice booming and echoing like thunder in the cavernous room.

"Once more, I beg your forgiveness, but before your death, you were entrusted with something by one of my forefathers, and I have need of that item, and so have come to reclaim what is mine be right of blood," Acton said, rising from his bow to look at the shade before him.

"Indeed? Then you come for the sword," the warrior said, folding its arms over its head. "And how do I know that you are indeed a descendent of the one who gave me that mighty blade?"

In answer, Acton held up his hand and a golden glow burst forth, lighting the shadowy corners of the room.

The figure laughed and nodded. "Very well then," he said, waving his hand, causing the lid of the casket to rise slowly into the air and move to the side before settling on the floor. "There is no mistaking that power for anything else. Take what is yours, and take it freely."

As Acton leaned in and gently took a cloth wrapped bundle from where it lay next to the armored skeleton inside, the warrior began to fade away. By the time he had stepped back, the ghost was gone, and the lid rose back into place and settled once more upon the stone box that held the warrior's remains.

"Good luck to thee, Dragon-kin," said the warriors voice, and then silence descended once more. Acton slowly unwrapped the cloth from around the sword, revealing a beautiful scabbard that was shimmering gold with a lustrous pearl stripe down the center on both sides. The hilt was golden and wire wrapped, and the pommel was shaped to look like Vallashar's head, mouth open in a tremendous roar. When he drew the blade, the sound it made was almost musical; the blade itself was brilliant silver, and seemed to shine with an inner light. Bending down, Acton picked up a small scrap of paper that had fallen on the floor, a curving intricate script written upon it. Then he turned to the others and grinned.

"Alright, we've got the sword, we've got the location," he said, sheathing the blade and strapping it over his back so that the hilt poked above his left shoulder. "Now, let's go find the next bit." And with that, they turned and headed out of the tomb and back into the light.

**Authors note: So! I actually got this chapter out really really fast. Not sure why or how. Anywho, not important. I would like to explain a little something here. From here on, we're actually going to move into the story I had originally intended to tell. For some reason, in the process of laying out the characters and setting the stage, I somehow got sidetracked and ended up doing some things out of order. I hadn't intended to introduce Vallashar until much later. But things ended up working out alright, so it's no biggie!**

**As for music, I had a couple of songs for this chapter for specific scenes. I think you'll agree they fit with the scenes they were set for.**

**1.) Kikyo and Zalia fighting together and Unison Raid: ****Nightcore - Daughters of Darkness [HD]**

**2.) Acton and Zalia dance 1 : ****Nightcore Diese kalte Nacht**

**3.) Acton and Zalia dance 2 : Nightcore – Walpurgisnacht**

**That's it for now! I just hope I can get the next chapter out as quickly as I did this one. Not likely, but I can hope. Lol. But anyway, gotta run, so ciao! And remember, laugh loud, live hard, and don't forget to SMILE!**

**Love - Dark**


	14. HALP!

**SO I AM OFFICIALLY STUCK! **I am currently suffering from the worst writers block I have ever experienced, and I need help. Please, pm me or review with any ideas you guys might have. It could spark something to get this moving again. I will gladly give credit to any ideas I might use.


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